The Exception To The Rule
by PinkMedow
Summary: For someone like Elizabeth Stark, who has a lot of things under her control; fire, water, ice, electricity, the world sure throws a lot of crap at her. It hasn't even been a year since the evil horned God fiasco and she already has to deal with Human Furnaces and World Dominating Robots. But for someone who practically caused these messes, her brother is handling it spectacularly.
1. Seven Heroes and A Tower

**The Billionaire, The Doctor, The Solider, The Scientist, The Archer, and The Assassin**

 **A Few Weeks after the Battle of New York**

 **Bruce Banner**

I tap the pads of my fingers on the pristine countertop, feeling awkward and out of place. It's almost been a week of having breakfast in the 'Avenger (Formerly Stark) Tower' and yet, I still feel as uncomfortable as I was on day one.

Steve Rogers walks into the kitchen, leaving a trail of water droplets in his path. The solider has had a precise schedule for the past weeks. Wake up at six, run for an hour, take a shower, eat breakfast, train, learn about the 21st century, eat lunch, train, go out and take a walk or visit Peggy Carter, eat dinner, train, then sleep. Currently, he is on the 'eat breakfast after training (and showering)' part.

"Morning Bruce." Steve says as he digs through the refrigerator. We've all been on a first name basis for quite some time now; saving the world together can do that to a group of strangers.

"Good morning." I reply. The two of us don't really converse much, mostly due to both our shy tendencies.

"Where's Tony?" He asks me and I mentally correct myself; Steve calls Tony, Tony, but Tony calls Steve everything (Captain Underpants, Capsicle, Spangles) but Steve.

"Where else? In his workshop. He barely got out of the place since Elizabeth left. The only person that can coax him out is Pepper and she's away on the previously cancelled business trip." I tell him.

Steve nods and our conversation ends, bathing the kitchen in an awkward silence that I effectively end by walking away with a muffled 'goodbye'.

I walk down the steps into Tony Starks's lab and enter the code that was assigned to me when Tony and Pepper offered the tower to me for a temporary housing until I figure out what I want to do now that I'm not hiding anymore.

My hands automatically go up to cover my ears in response to the boisterous music that is being played. I take in the sight of the burnt lab; flames surrounding a blue Porsche, tools scattered all over the place, one of Tony's robots holding a fire extinguisher taming the fire, and the man himself standing in the middle looking sheepish.

He spots me at the entrance and waves me in, as if this is all absolute normalcy. I force a smile onto my face and pull out my phone, motioning with my hands that this is an important call that I must answer and sprint up the stairs only to bump into Steve, who is making his way down the stairs, presumably to visit Tony.

"Do not, under any circumstances go down there." I tell him.

I ignore his confused expression and run into the elevator, allowing myself to breathe normally when I step out of the Tower and breathe the summer breeze.

I should have stayed in Calcutta.

 **A Few Days Later**

 **Elizabeth**

"And then this guy, a random blond, green-eyed dude, walks out of her room, buck-ass naked and smiles at me! He's followed by my best friend since preschool, Charlotte Abigail McCoy who is covered by a single bed sheet that covers everything that needs to be covered, not that it's necessary cause I've already seen her naked many times, not that we're together or anything, she's really not my type, but..."

My important (self-pitying) ramble is cut of when Happy (the heartless bastard) activates the parting glass to separate him and me and to avoid listening to my rambling. I glare at the parting glass in shock and then go on to stare out the window, looking at all the familiar things I didn't realize I missed until I came back from Savannah (a long much needed trip ever since Loki happened).

Happy pulls the car to a stop in front of the Avengers Tower (Tony came up with the name ever since Bruce, Steve, and occasionally Nat and Clint started staying there and the Avengers became incredibly popular around the world) and I step off, throwing him a carefully constructed (childish) glare before stomping my way into home.

When the elevator doors open, I'm greeted by Jarvis' warm (as warm as a robot can get) welcome and I smile giddily at the comfort of being home. The first thing I see is Tony's smiling face that awaits a few feet from the elevator and I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind when I step out.

"Charlie's been seeing a guy for three months and I had no idea!"

My brother stops mid step and his face changes from happy to blank. I mentally scroll back and realize what I said and guiltily smile at him.

"Never mind. Forget I even said that. We'll talk about it later, once I'm done explaining to Happy who by the way is a horrible listener. I was talking to him about my serious problem about not knowing who my best friend's current bang is and he just raised the partition glass. The nerve of that man. By the way, I missed you. A lot." I walk up to hug him and he reincorporates the gesture wholeheartedly.

It's then that I notice the two S.H.I.E.L.D agents posing as spectators on the large stairway. I release Tony and make my way towards the bottom of the staircase, my eyebrows raised in question at their amused and relieved smiles.

"It's a good thing your back. Poor Stark here was going to die in his man cave." Natasha tells me.

"I was not!" I hear Tony argue from behind me.

Both Tony and Natasha have had a...unique relationship since the Battle of New York. Tony had always liked her; he just became much more closed off when he discovered that she was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent sent to spy on him. Nat had always hated him, but loosened due to what seems like guilt for almost trapping him in space. After the battle, they both came to a silent truce. Now, they openly tease each other, all the while maintaining the line that they had drawn between themselves to ensure comfort.

It's slightly unsettling to see them like this, I think as I watch them bicker away to one of the training rooms (where Natasha will train and Tony will annoy her with pointers).

"It's all weird, right." Clint says from beside me.

If there was anything, more unsuspecting that came out of the alien invasion than Natasha and Tony was the relationship between Clint Barton and me. He was closed off during the battle, probably because of the guilt he felt for being a part of the cause. He became a great friend after that. I left for Savannah the day after the battle and he left for a tiny vacation of his own. I offered my private jet and he offered to fly it. I realized how much of a talker he was during the ride. By the time I was dropped off at Savannah, I knew many things about the previously mysterious Clint Barton, including his secret family.

"You mean coming back from a trip to a tower with a bunch of superheroes?" Ya, it's weird." I respond after my inner rant subdues.

He chuckles, shakes his head and walks away. Leaving me bewildered. I chase after him in mock fury.

"Hey! I just came back. You can't just leave after saying only four words to me. I'm a talker. I need people to talk back to." I yell at his shaking (in laughter) back.

It's good to be home.

 **The Same Day**

 **Steve Rogers**

I position my feet wide apart, in accordance with the punching bag that dangles from the ceiling. I haven't started yet, but the force of placing it on the hook already has the bag moving violently back and forth. Punching is my way of releasing stress. It's my way of letting go. My place in this world is unverified, and I don't know what to do with all this spare time.

My mind takes an unnecessary trip through memory lane, to a few weeks ago, when I rode into the sunset after my almost-kiss with Liz.

 _I rode on my bike for three hours. Not going anywhere, just riding without any destination. I cut through the broken and battered streets, allowing me a good look at the world that has become my home. The world that has changed significantly in the past 50 years. Then, all of a sudden, I stopped. In the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the street. I stopped and realized that I had no place to go. The only people I knew during this century were currently in the large tower that I could see from the distance._

 _I parked my bike in front of Stark Tower and walked in the building. The machine previously introduced as Jarvis took me to the 50_ _th_ _floor of the tower where Tony and Bruce sat on a surprisingly unbroken couch. They didn't seem surprised to see me there._

" _Liz told me you'd show up." He said._

 _Of course she did._

" _There are spare rooms on the 51_ _st_ _floor that is experiencing ongoing repairs as of right now. When that is over you and Brucie can stay as long as you two want. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things to do." And with that, he disappeared down some stairs._

" _Where's Liz?" I asked Bruce. We don't really talk that much. It's probably because both of us prefer to watch than talk._

" _She just left for Savannah. Right before you came." He told me and I pushed down the disappointment when he did._

 _I gave him a nod and walked up the stairs to the 51_ _st_ _floor feeling more alone than ever._

It's been weeks since then and I feel as if I finally got my life somewhat in order. Tony's been helping me with technology, Natasha's been training with me, and Tony's girlfriend, Pepper, showed me around New York until she left. Regardless, I can't help but feel a pang of melancholy whenever I spot a longhaired brunette on the streets.

I clear my head and prepare to start my anger punching when a familiar voice stops me.

"Just wanted to tell you that we don't have a storage full of punching bags so you're going to have to go and buy your own if you break this one. Which will be hard since you don't have any money as of now, so my advice would be not to punch too hard, okay?"

Liz leans on the doorway of the gym. Her hair is made into a complicated braid that sits over her shoulder on top of the green floral sundress she sports. Her face is tanned, sun kissed, and she glows with absolute radiance and joy that tells me that the trip did wonders to her emotionally. She smiles (the smile that I have missed) and walks up to me.

"I missed you. The house was so quiet without your chatter." I truthfully tell her.

"Of course it was. And of course, you missed me. Who wouldn't? Everyone did." She jokingly says as she stands on her toes in order to wrap her arms around my neck.

"I missed you too," I hear her muffled reply against my neck and I close my eyes for a moment of bliss before I release my arms from her waist and we stand there, stupidly looking at each other for a moment.

"So, Tony told me about your very diligent training." She gives me a look that says that she can see right through me.

I scratch the back of my neck for a second before my posture straightens.

"Ya, I wanted to make sure I'm ready. Just in case you know?"

Seemingly accepting the excuse, she nods her head before a mischievous glint sparks in her eye.

"Give me a minute. I'll be right back," she makes her way to the bathroom all the while murmuring audible reassurances that I don't know I need; "I'm not going anywhere. I just need to...You know...for later. I'll be back in a sec. Don't go anywhere."

She emerges from the ladies room in a tank top and leggings and her complex braid has now transformed into a simple ponytail that rests high on her head. My confusion at her sudden make over is probably evident on my face as she explains,

"I hear you got some sick moves up your sleeve. So I thought that you could show me. And I didn't mean your bedroom moves cause that would be inappropriate. Not that you have horrible bedroom moves, or that I'm thinking about such moves. I just thought that it would be cool if we could train together and you can show me your moves. And I mean this in a purely platonic way." She clears her throat awkwardly and swings back on her heels as I fight to destroy the images she just created in my head.

"You want to fight me?" I say in an unsure, slightly amused way.

Just when I thought that she couldn't surprise me anymore, she just goes on to do it all over again.

 **Liz**

I narrow my eyes at the humour in his.

"Do you have a problem with that Steve Rogers? Scared to hit a woman. Because if so, then I've got to say buddy, you are definitely in the wrong time" I inch closer to him daringly, secretly relieved that he completely ignored my inapt ramble.

He hides a smile (not very well) and masks a straight face (not well at all) and steps forward so that his breath brushes my face when he speaks.

"Alright Ms. Stark, let's see what you got."

We both stand on either end of the training mat. His legs are positioned away from each other and his hands are balled loosely into fists. He makes the first move; running towards me. I dodge the punch that aims to my stomach with a quick step back and duck to avoid the other hand that barrels to my head. I catch his smirk before I aim a kick to his knees that relatively does nothing but send him staggering back a few inches.

"No fair, you're a supersoilder." I not so quietly whisper.

"Hey, you were the one that wanted to fight." He defensively says, mastering a quick flurry of movements that I subtly dodge.

"Well, I kinda forgot for a moment there that you were not a normal human being, but a human being with a phenomenal set of unnatural skills along with the extra biological strength. I guess hanging out with normal people for a couple of weeks does that to you." Back and forth, we fight. Actually, I wouldn't really call this fighting, this is more of a weirdly calm boxing.

"Ya, that's one of the things I like about you. You look at me as if I'm a normal human" In the move that I had anticipated, he runs up to me, back arched, legs drawn up to punch me on my shoulders and kick me on my legs. The 'Cowered Howard' my Aunt Peggy had named it. The only move that my father could ever do; he refused to learn after that.

I counter it with a much better one. One of the first moves Aunt Peggy had taught me. Took four years to perfect, but it was worth it.

I grab his arm, spin around, and while spinning use all the strength I have mastered to pin him down on the ground. But of course, training with a supersoilder definitely has its privileges as I end up falling with him. I land on top of one sweaty Steve Rogers (why the hell does the man sweat cologne?), the only thing preventing me from going smack down on his chest (not that I would really mind) is my hands that position me a few inches above him (thank god I did push ups with Jarvis when I was younger.)

Nevertheless, it doesn't prevent a victorious smile from stretching across my face and a surprised smile that stretches on his. I loosen my hand that pulls me up and he moves his head upwards so that we can meet in the middle.

"That was some awesome ass-kicking back there." Natasha's voice infiltrates the room, and I almost throw an icicle at her. But I'm too busy jumping away from Steve and getting my breathing back in order from that almost kiss (the second one).

"I got it on video. Did the classic Peggy Carter didn't ya?" My brother walks in with Bruce and stands beside Natasha and I silently pray that he disregarded or misinterpreted the kiss-that-never-happened.

"The what?" Steve asks from beside me, nothing abnormal, but his breathy voice that can be passed for exhaustion. Unlike me, who is probably beet red all over, and clenching my thighs while balling my hand into a fist in an attempt to control myself biologically.

"We call it the Peggy Carter move. It was the first move that Aunt Peggy taught me and it might be her greatest move yet. Although it's not really hers, it's her late brothers, who died, which you know because I just said late brother and because you dated her. Anyway, Aunt Peggy does the move better than him anyway. I mean, I don't know him or anything but..." I realize that I'm outside the gym and that I've successfully completed getting my stuff and walking out of the gym without having to face Steve. I also realize that I've failed my pact to keep it cool and quiet, to let Tony explain the move, and to walk out without embarrassing myself.

Clint, in all his almighty bow and arrowyness walks into the room, takes one look at my face and asks me,

"Are you okay? You look...red."

I ignore him and walk away, making sure not to look at my face in the reflection.

I knew living with a bunch of superheroes was a terrible idea.


	2. Burning Furnace

**Burning Furnace**

 **Malibu**

 **Elizabeth**

"Yeah, can you send me the records of every patient that came in when I was in New York?" I ask the nurse and he hastily nods before walking out the door, almost bumping into the wall in his hurry.

"Friday, pull up the records that I just asked for please?" I ask my AI once I'm sure that the nurse is out of a hearing range.

"Do you have something against Henderson?" Charlie asks from her desk where she looks at me suspiciously from her mountain of paperwork.

"What? No, no, why would you say that? I like Ryan. He's really nice. There was this one time, during Christmas where he brought me a ticket to Aspen. I mean who gives a co-worker a free weekend to Aspen?" I defend myself from her accusation.

"No one gives their co-worker a free weekend to Aspen. Giving your boss a weekend to Aspen is a completely different matter. And besides, I asked what you had against Ryan because you sent him to retrieve the reports before asking Friday to do so." She pointedly looks away from her paperwork and at me.

"I think someone may be recording the procedures and the diagnoses incorrectly. So I thought that I could go through the ones that Ryan gives me and compare it to the ones Friday brings up. You know, since Tony, without my permission allowed Friday access to all my med rooms so she, he, it, I don't know, records everything that happens in said med room and makes her, I'm going to call it, her, own medical report. So that way, I can see who wrote the wrong report and **you** will deal with them accordingly, since I'm too scared to fire people. I mean do you just say you're fired. How do you not feel bad?" I look at Charlie, who by now has perfected hiding her dazed expression when I talk too much and resumes her work.

"Hey sis!" I jump out of my seat with a squeak at the sound of my brother's voice.

"Oh God! Tony! How do turn this damn auto answer off! I hate it!" I yell into nothingness.

"You Can't. Do you mind talking to Pepper?" He gets to the point straightaway.

"Why? What did you do this time? And before you complain and ask why it always has to be you, let me remind you that Pepper is perfect and you are not and therefore you are most likely to do something really stupid to upset her." I tell him, while bringing up the medical staff onto my laptop screen.

"Geez thanks. I'm guessing you didn't watch the news since you're talking to me. Well, you never watch the news. The thing is, I might have used one of my prototypes to pretend to be me and now she's upset and I don't know what to do. So you've got to help me." (it's only later that I learned that he'd actually invited a terrorist over to his home and outraged Pepper) I roll my eyes at the knowledge that only Tony Stark will ever have problems as such and only I could be asked to resolve them.

"I don't know Tony. Get her flowers and take her out somewhere nice. Spend more time with her rather than your machines. Give her a complement. Make her breakfast. Actually, don't make her breakfast; she might get angrier with you for ruining her kitchen and food poisoning her. How about actually attending your date and talking to her, using the normal language normal people use instead of the Tony Stark dialect that consists of snide comments, and uncaring sass." I hear the exasperation in my own tone.

I can't really blame him. Ever since Manhattan, he's been dealing with a serious PTSD that he won't even acknowledge let along talk about. It's fair, because he did go through a wormhole with a nuke on his back. But dealing with it the 'Tony way' isn't going to help at all. He has to talk to someone, preferably Pepper, since the talk will most likely get their relationship back on track. I make a mental reminder to myself to watch the news to see what he did this time.

"Are you sure you haven't hooked up with Rogers yet? You're becoming sappy and mushy." He responds after a ten-second silence.

"Goodbye Tony." And Friday probably gets the message because the phone immediately ends after, and I'm left with the faint chatter of hospital staff and the soothing lull of beeping monitors.

"Hooked up with Steve Rogers?" Charlie repeats, effectively cutting of my brief moment of peace.

"No, Charlie. There is no hooking up with Steve Rogers. We're friends. Tony's being Tony." My answer is sharp and definite; making sure she never brings the subject up again. However, I should know by now that nothing ever really fazes Charlotte McCoy.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did though. I mean, did you see that face, and that body? And don't even get me started on the abs." She sighs dreamily.

 _Don't I know?_

Without a word, I get out of my seat, take the elevator down to the lobby, walk out of the hospital doors and welcome the warm Malibu breeze that plays with the tendrils of hair that escaped from the tightly knotted bun I wove in the morning.

I make my way to the park a mile away from the hospital. It's usually isolated at this time, apart from the occasional CEO that eats lunch, or types away, with all the liberty to escape the confines of the office. I seat myself on the soft grass in front of a tree, my eyes trained on the grand fountain, relishing in the occasional mist that sprays my face.

My phone rings; a series of chimes and beats that I don't recognize since most people (on my personal phone) have a particular tone set up for them (to help make the decision whether I want to answer or not, faster).

I groan (loudly) out loud when I don't recognize the number displayed on the screen and let it ring for a few seconds as I pick up the nearest flower and touch the petals (I don't like ripping them out, seems too cruel) and groan again (loudly, much to the dismay of the man on the phone next to me) when the flower insists that I answer.

"Hi, this is Elizabeth Stark speaking. I'd just like to let you know that I don't know who you are or why your calling me and I don't want to speak to you at all, but the pretty daisy near me forced me to answer your call and if your calling me, then you should know that I can never disobey a daisy. I've never found the strength in me to do so. If you haven't cut the phone by now, you may speak. Now." I say without a pause.

"I agree, the consequences of disobeying a daisy must be fatal." Steve Rogers (Captain America) chokes out in between laughter.

I splutter out an incoherent ' _Oh My God!'_ in shock and by now, the man beside me is sending me openly viscous glares.

"Steve, I don't have your number. Actually, I didn't think you had a phone. Because you know, the phone you did have was outdated and Tony made it his priority to throw it away almost immediately and then forgot, or probably chose not to replace it. And I didn't think you cared much for this worlds tech, so I thought you were in Washington living your phone-free life." I tell him.

I've been trying to grab a hold of Steve ever since he left to work for S.H.I.E.L.D once more. I wasn't particularly interested in contacting Fury (he'd probably just shut me out mid-ramble) and Clint and Nat were always on one mission or another, that involved going undercover and therefore, no contact with the outside world. I tried pulling some strings with S.H.I.E.L.D operatives but you could barely get a 'hi' out of them, they've gotten their mouths sealed so tight.

"Ya, I wanted to. But I made a couple of friends back here and realized that I'm going to have to face reality. I'm here now. Might as well get used to it." His voice drifts over the phone.

"Good." Is my one word answer.

"Good that I'm stuck in the 21st century?"

"No, no, of course not. I mean it's not good for you. It's good for me...I mean us, the world. You did help stop an alien invasion and lead the team of screwed up superheroes into victory. The world has to give you that much. And I meant to say that it's good you're making friends." I roll on my back (against my protesting skirt) and from my peripheral vision, I can see my long hair (that I just unfastened) make a protective halo around my head.

"Hey Steve?" I call out to him.

"Hmm" he hums his reply.

"Can I hack your phone?" I keep the request as innocent as possible.

"Go ahead." He says with a good-natured chuckle.

I end up babbling some crap about the time when I tried to hack my brother's digital diary but ended up with a face full of shaving cream, as I press some buttons that give me access to Steve's phone. Soon enough, his smiling face appears on the screen and I give him a small wave.

"You do realize that I knew how to do that myself right?" He tells me and I try not to look so shocked with the knowledge.

"No, I didn't. But in my defence, I'm tired, hungry, it's so hot here, I want to go home, Charlie being an ass, Ryan is way too nice and keeps giving me vacations to Aspen and I feel like I'm using him, Tony's being annoying, and I don't know how to reset the default answer he programmed onto my phone and Friday doesn't know either because he obviously gave me the dumber AI and I'm sleeping on the grass next to a guy that is this close to murdering me..."

"Liz." Steve interrupts me, telling me without words to get to the point (only Steve Rogers is capable of making it seem like a polite request, the damn martyr).

"I just thought that it would be easier for me to do it than to walk you through the process." I finish.

"Are we talking about Steve's virginity? Because I'm totally in if we're talking about Steve's virginity."

My favourite redhead pops on the screen and I'm so happy to see her, her initial sentence leaves my mind.

"Nat!" I yell apologetically looking at Mr Grouch (the man sitting next to me).

"How's the newly titled Fyra?"

I smile. Ever since my worldwide recognition during Manhattan, some civilians realized how horrible the name Tricity was, so they upgraded it to Fyra, which, despite it sounding a lot like fire (which is also suitable since I do have fire powers), means four in Latin. Now, whether I should use Tricity or Fyra as an alias seems to be a worldwide controversy.

"She's great. And not so sure whether to reply to that or Tricity." I say, glaring and (childishly) sticking my tongue at Mr. Grouch who has the nerve to shush me.

"Ooh, who's on the unwelcoming end of Elizabeth's Stark's wrath? Let me guess, Stark?" Natasha grabs the phone from a protesting Steve and walks somewhere.

"Nah, just some guy. Forget about him. I want to hear about Bengal."

We spend the next 20 minutes talking about her trip to Bengal to catch some international hit man and then, Nick Fury has to spoil my day by calling in Agent Romanoff. And with a goodbye of 'duty calls' she leaves the scene, leaving me with Steve, who apparently has been there the entire time.

"So, my duty calls too. Though it probably involves stethoscopes, and tweezers rather than knives and guns." I tell him forlornly. Ever since 'The Mandarin' I've been having people from all over the world come to Stark Med with glass and other debris stuck in their heart or lungs. It almost makes me want to murder this son of a bitch myself.

"Well, I guess I'll call some other time." He says.

"And by other time, you better mean tonight." I tell him trying to look stern but failing miserably when he laughs.

When I walk into the office a few minutes later, I'm greeted by a very solemn looking Charlie asking me whether I watched the news or heard from Tony.

 **Tony**

 **Tennessee**

"I just stole a poncho from a wooden Indian." I speak into the phone booth solemnly, making sure that I don't add any sarcasm and humour, keeping my sister's advice in mind.

 _Oh Shit!_

You know, it's hard to keep track of all the people you need to call and inform that you did not actually die in an explosion, but you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way to get back home. And this is what, the third time since the world has proclaimed me dead. I mean, seriously, how many times does a guy have to die, until people know not to keep assuming?

I'm about to dial Lizzie's number on the phone when my brain decides to bring up a memory (I don't know why this memory decides to resurface, it's completely irrelevant to anything I'm thinking at the moment, but I guess it was one of many times where I had to thank my brain utterly) from when I left for MIT.

" _You're giving me an earring. Tony I love you. But, I haven't gotten my ears pierced yet. And even if I do, I can't and won't ever wear anything as extravagant as this. There is a difference between your one night stands, which is probably all of Washington, and me."_

" _Ya I know. This is a miniature long distanced wireless conversationalist. Kind of like a walkie-talkie. You wear the earrings, and you'll be able to talk to me whenever and wherever you are by pressing the teardrop. It'll send a signal to my ring, and voila, instant communication, just in case."_

" _So basically, you just gave me a mini phone. You were board and flushed out of ideas, so you went into your room, made a last minute project, and came up with importing telecommunications into jewellery, which you gifted to me. Because it's probably not one of your finest and if you gave it to mom, who you probably wanted to give it to, she'll show it to all her high-class friends with the intelligent business-y husbands, and that will degrade what a great genius you are, because you somehow singlehandedly created this mini phone with the items from our house, which is impossible, but it isn't good enough. Right?"_

" _Ya, basically."_

" _I love it!"_

I stare down at the ring in my hands, somehow forgetting that I was supposed to continue my conversation and heartfelt apology to Pepper, and then futilely realizing that my time was up. I press the ring, knowing that there was a 1 of 97 chance that she'll be wearing the earring today (perhaps there was a really fancy charity gala she was attending, unknowing of my supposed death), but hoping that the universe has decided to stop punishing me after my really crappy day.

"Oh my God! Tony!" Lizzie all but screams into the earring.

Hearing her voice after all that has happened renders me speechless, and as I try to say the words that I want to, because I need her to understand, I realize that I don't know how to say what I want to say.

"Tony! Tony, answer me. Tell me your okay."

"I'm fine." I say after a split second.

She'll go into a five-minute ramble. And I don't have enough time for that. This bastard's (the ring, not me) been running for years, who knows when it will shut down. So, I can't let her go into a five-minute ramble. I need her to listen to what I have to say, and make sure she takes care of herself.

"I'm fine Lizzie. But I won't tell you where I am. I won't. Because you'll just come out here looking for me, and I can't let you do that. Right now, you need to focus on keeping yourself and Pepper safe. I need to figure some things out before I come home. I really need you to trust me right now. You can yell at me later."

A moment of silence.

"Okay. Under one condition." She responds with capitulation, although there is something concrete about her tone.

"Ya," I whisper, unable to say something.

"Promise me. You have to promise me Tony, that you won't do anything that's going to get you inevitably killed. Promise me that you won't do something as stupid as New York."

There's a layer of deliberation in her tenor, as if she's weighing every word so that she doesn't say too much. I hate it.

"I promise." I tell her.

"Then I'll see soon." She says definitely, as if there's no room for argument.

The ring makes an odd whirring sound and I lose the one thing that kept me at bay. Before my mind panics, I make a mental collage in my head; Liz, Pepper, Rhodey, Mom, Dad, Aunt Peggy, Jarvis, Anna, and Happy. Then, I take the suit and drag it across the snow, a newfound determination that cuts through me.

I promised that I wouldn't do anything that'll get me killed inevitably.

The key word being inevitably.

 **Rhodey**

If I had just taken the bus that day in collage, I wouldn't be in this mess. I could have avoided bumping into Tony, being fascinated by him, and then becoming his best friend. But, I took that bus to collage, and now I'm hiding behind a intermodal container with said best friend, trying to sneak around the burning humans' headquarters to save my best friend's girlfriend and the president.

Tony's armed with a gun that he probably doesn't know how to use, but I know for sure that he'll find some way to get back at me for sending him in a battle zone without any weapons. And I can't exactly leave him weaponless, now that there is no suit of armour to protect him.

We both peek above the big metal protecting us probably thinking the same thing as we see around 50 armed men and women guarding each entrance, and five of them, jumping down from cargo containers strung up in the air to get to us, the red glow of their skin seeming brighter in the night.

Busted, we both stand up, exposing ourselves to our attackers. My gun is up and in position and Tony's hangs limply on his hand, as he stands there.

"You guys have a plan, right."

Jesus! I aim my gun at the new voice next to me and lift my hands above my head in an abrupt motion when Elizabeth, all suited up, takes a step back in defence.

"Liz, what are you doing here?" Tony speaks my question.

"Jarvis told me where you were. I was worried about you, and then you kept moving from place to place, and then Pepper went missing so I correctly assumed that you were gonna rescue her, and I'm helping. So, I got Jarvis to fill me in on the way and now I'm here, and what do we do about the fire people?" I hear her explanation, but I don't look at her as the 'fire people' stand there, not making a move.

"God I would kill for some armour right now." I say to myself.

"Ya, we need backup." Liz whispers, I suppose she finally understands the weight of the situation.

"A bunch." I agree with her.

"But you've got that covered, don't you?" Liz looks at her brother suspiciously.

To tell the truth, I'm slightly suspicious myself. Tony's a normally chill guy, but he doesn't seem to be worried that he has no combat skills, doesn't know how to use a gun, and is on the naughty list of fire breathing humans.

I hear a familiar crackling, and look at the sky to see a firework. Only, it doesn't burst into a thousand sparks, but formulates into one of Tony's suits and takes position in the sky. It's followed by many more, that fly in and surround the place; each one a different size, colour and shape, probably with different abilities.

"Oh. My. God." I vaguely hear and agree with Liz's breathy statement.

"Merry Christmas Buddy." Tony says, but I don't take my eyes of the hundreds of Iron Mans in the air.

He utters some incomprehensible instructions to Jarvis that I don't pick up in my surprised haze, but I do notice the elaborate sign of the cross and arm gesture he does while saying,

"What are you waiting for? It's Christmas, take them to church."

What happens after is unclear, hazy and beyond any of my understanding. Liz slips an earpiece into my hands and I still stand there, unable to tear my eyes away from the fighting robots.

"So this is how you've been spending your time lately? No wonder Pepper was mad." Liz comments and I don't miss the way Tony immediately sobers up at the mention of Pepper. That woman is the best thing that has ever happened to him!

"Everyone needs a hobby." He says, and then goes off to fire commands to the robots that apparently have names (Tony's such a nerd).

And in perfect timing, a suit flies in and convulses itself around its creator. Before the mask closes in place, I stretch my arms out, awaiting my suit. When I don't feel the familiar cool of metal, I look at him,

"Give me a suit." I stare at him expectantly and he looks almost apologetic.

"Oh, sorry, they're only coded to me. And Liz. And Pepper."

 _What._

"I got you covered." And with that, he flies away followed by his sister who gives me a back pat instead of a suit.

 **Liz**

"Sir, I've located Ms. Potts."

I hear Jarvis say through my headpiece.

"Hey, I got your back, you get Pepper." I say, flying through the sky, dodging a man who charges through the air at me, only to be swept away by one of Tony's suits.

"Liz, this is dangerous. You need to get away. These guys can burn you with a touch." He sternly tells me.

"Then I won't let them touch me. Tony, you can't do this alone. And both you and I know that I can kick ass better that you and Rhodey combined. So, you go get Pepper, and I'll watch your back. It's pointless to argue when I'm not going to listen." I tell him.

He sighs loudly but doesn't argue after and I spot him walking into a room. Landing on top of the pathway that leads to the door, I make my way into said room, only to receive a hard, burning blow to my stomach. My suit is made of metal so thin and transparent, that it burns off almost immediately, and I'm sent flying into the railing.

I get up despite the pain, and send a powerful jolt of electricity at the asshole that hurt me, only for him to absorb it. It makes him angry though, and he charges at me with a determined purpose. I grab onto the railing and flip myself around him, giving him a hard punch on the temporal bone, which should have knocked him out cold, but only sends him flying on the ground.

"You know, they have two names for me, Fyra and Tricity. I don't know which ones gonna stick, but I think Tricity gave everyone the illusion that I only had electricity. Fyra means four in Latin. I have much more than electricity. And you have fire. So I guess the only way to fight fire, is to use ice."

And before he can even get up, he's stuck in an ice block that'll melt in a couple of hours or so.

"Jarvis, let's try to keep the kill level to a minimum okay." I tell him but I don't wait for a response.

I run into the room, just in time to see Tony splice off Aldrich Killian's hand, said hand slowly growing back, and Pepper falling through the hole that the chopped of hand created. And that was the weirdest sentence I have ever said.

Without thinking, or noticing me, my brother runs in the opposite direction, leaving me with creepy, arm growing guy, that I have a deep hate for. I rub my hands together and take a nice look at the room, itching for my phone to take pictures to show Charlie.

"Well, that's only if you make it back to him."

Oops, I guess I said that aloud.

I glare at Killian, who stares at me with a lethal smile; each step he makes towards me is a promise of pain, for him. He throws the first punch, and of course, I can never keep my mouth shut.

"I will you dick," I freeze my arm and punch him in the stomach, only for the ice to immediately melt off.

"And Charlie's a girl!"

He may have powers, but he's doesn't know how to fight. His punches are expected and slow, and his moves are heavy and repetitive, if this was a battle with Tony, he might have a winning chance, but with me, I would win in a second; if only I know how to punch him back without being burnt.

"I get it, you can fight. But unless you want to end up as toast, you don't want to touch me. Wouldn't want to burn your pretty face." He says, pulling back from me.

It's the only opportunity I need.

Without even aiming, I ice him, not stopping even when the ice grows and thickens, causing me to shiver. When I am content with my glacier, I turn away and leave, not noticing the water that pools on the ground due to the melting ice.

"Killian's down Tony." I tell my brother, picking up the headpiece that fell of earlier while fighting.

"Good, now I need you to leave."

"What." I yell, looking at the remaining soldiers affected by Extremis.

"Rhodey left and I need you to do the same. You said Killian is gone, and I can get Pepper, but I can't focus on her if your here. I need you to promise to leave and meet me with a car outside of this place okay." He sounds stressed and panicked and I know that it would be pointless to argue with him.

"Alright."

And I fly away, hoping for the best.

 **Pepper**

I walk out of the operating theatre, feeling much lighter and peaceful since Tony gave our address to a terrorist that turned out to be a business client. The surging heat that I had felt through my veins for a couple of days is gone, and I find myself excited to see Tony and touch him without the fear of toasting him.

He's the first person I see when I walk into the hallway. Despite the presence of Liz and Rhodey, he's the first and only person I see; it's been like that ever since that kiss on the rooftop so long ago. Much has changed since then; the almost kissed turned into many kisses, my EA position has been upgraded to CEO, and my boss has become my boyfriend.

"We good?" Tony meets me halfway (another change), placing his hands on my shoulders, rubbing tentatively.

"Ya, we're fine." I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him in for a much needed kiss.

We pull back to face a smiling (more or less beaming) Liz and a slightly disgusted Rhodey.

"Alright then, let's go." I say, grabbing my bag and coat from the chair.

"Actually, we have one more patient." Tony says from beside me, pointing at his heart.

Which is how I end up here, sitting in front of the same operation theatre, waiting for surgeons to get rid of the shrapnel in Tony's chest. I rub my hands back and forth across my arms (something Tony likes to do when I'm stressed) as I prepare myself for the possible ' _I'm sorry, but we did all that we could'_ from the nurse.

"What's taking so long? I just wish they would let me in. I'm a certified doctor. I should be able to go inside a hospital and ensure that they're doing it right. I mean, what if they remove it wrong. Or they damage or scar one of the major arteries. Why did we let Tony do this again?" Liz rambles, and I'm not entirely sure whom she's talking to.

"Because the shrapnel almost killed him last year. And it'd be nice to have one less thing to worry about. And Tony wouldn't trust them with his life if he weren't sure they knew what they were doing." I reassure her and me.

"You're right. We're all gonna be okay. Your fine, Killian's gone, and Tony will be okay too." She says it like it's a mantra, as if she's been repeating this repeatedly in her head.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, the tension and worry in the room too much for conversation.

"So, Tony thinks there's something going on between you and Steve Rogers."

Crap, I shouldn't have said that.

"He said that!"

Yep. Definitely shouldn't have said that.

"Is there? Cause I thought the same thing when he was staying with us." I ask her, finally voicing my suspicions.

"It's complicated." She breathes out and rubs her face.

"Hey, I'm in love with my ex-boss who just handed over his billion dollar company, flies around in an iron suit, and does stupid things like carrying missiles into wormholes that lead to space." It sounded much better in my head, but it just makes me sound miserable.

"Well, I have feelings for a man that has been frozen in ice ever since World War 2, is exceptionally miserable in the 21st century, has a weird feud with my brother, was the love of my aunt's life, and was BFFs with my dad." I tell her and I take a moment to look away and racket my brains for some proper advice.

In the end, I come up with none.

"I don't know Liz. But take it from me, it's not one sided." I tell her the only thing I'm positive of.

"Thanks Pep."

When I first met Liz, she was a relief from all things Tony Stark. Although she was brought up and lived in the same manner as the man, her openness and positivity to life was always refreshing after dealing with rich morons day after day. The extravagant lifestyle didn't mean a damn to her, she still shopped at Macys and Forever 21 and went to Walmart for discounts and Shoppers to gain Optimum Points.

She became a friend, when it became apparent that I wasn't going to leave Tony in the near future. At first she was nice and polite, still under the impression that I would be gone after a week. It was only after 3 months into the job that she decided to have a girl's day out; a tradition that continues every month, only now, we have Maria Hill, Natasha Romanoff or Charlotte McCoy joining us.

She became crucial when my feelings for Tony became imperative. Her opinion mattered the most, because if there was one thing anyone knew about Tony Stark (even the average 6 year old) was that his sister was the centre of his universe (It was literally in my job contract; _Page 7, appendix 3: I, Virginia Potts, am in an understanding that if Elizabeth Maria Stark, displays any sort of distaste or disapproval of me or my operational proficiency, I will be fired immediately)_ and so, it became necessary for her to like me. We were on a friendly basis before, but now, I would go as far to say, that apart from Tony, she has become my confidant.

The door to the room opens and out walks Tony Stark, in all his grace and confidence as if he went in there for a sauna rather than getting pieces of glass from his heart removed. The doctor, looking tired and exasperated, walks out, massaging her head.

"I tried to tell him that he should rest overnight but he was adamant to go home. The anaesthesia will wear off in an hour and so he's going to need medical support." She tells us apologetically.

Liz and I share a glance, knowing that there is no arguing with Tony on this, the man hates hospitals as much as the world hates Loki.

"That's alright doctor, we'll give him good care back at home." Liz reassures the doctor in her professional tone (the one with less ramblings and more authority) and the doctor walks away, presumably happy to get rid of Mr. Stark.

He holds his arm out for me to take and I intertwine my arms around it and rest my head on his biceps, savouring the kiss that I feel on top of my head.

Liz pulls up at the front of the hospital (when did she leave?) and yells through the window.

"Alrighty my awesome family, now that one nightmare's over, let's go home and cross our fingers that we don't get a second one."

 **So which name do you like better? Tricity or Fyra. I cannot decide!**

 **PinkMeadow**


	3. Steve Roger's Thawing Heart

**The Characters and the plot of this story belongs to Marvel Studios.**

* * *

 **The Mysterious Workings Of Steve Rogers' Thawing Heart**

 **Steve**

"I'm 95, not dead." I tell Natasha, it's my way of humouring things up.

I've worked with her for a couple of months now and it still doesn't fail to surprise me how funny, playful and outgoing she is. When we met during the whole Loki fiasco, she came across as aloof, distant and cold, someone whom you'd rather not mess with. I was actually surprised when I heard that she and Liz were close friends.

"Nobody special though?" She asks curiously.

I think of long dark hair, eyes that twinkle and a smile that lights up the world. She's been calling every night, except for yesterday, and despite my situation, my worry for her rests safely in the back of my head. She never forgets to call. Sometimes, it'll be for ten seconds, just to say goodnight, and to ask if I'm okay. Sometimes, she'll ramble for hours, telling me about her day and all the antics her brother pulled off. In the past 36 hours, nothing. I've tried calling a few times, and after each voicemail, my worry increases. I look at my phone, stored in a cup holder, paired to the Jeep's radio (courtesy of Natasha who claimed to be bored) and hope for a call from the only person who ever calls me (with an exception of Stark, who called once to complain about Pepper and Liz).

"Believe it or not, it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience." It's not exactly a lie; I'm not seeing someone as of now.

"How about Sharon?" I take a moment to look at her as if she's lost her mind.

"You mean the S.H.I.E.L.D agent who posed as being my neighbour to spy on me? No thanks." I'm still pretty upset about that. Not upset at Kate...Sharon, but more or less at myself for not noticing.

Before Natasha could say something or suggest someone else, my phone rings, and a familiar, smiling face appears on the screen of the car and I sigh in relief, and then panic when I realize I don't know how to answer it.

"Natasha, quick, answer it!" I yell with urgency.

"Easy tiger." She says and presses a button on the touch screen and Liz's voice fills the car.

"Hey!"

"You didn't call. Or answer." I say accusingly.

"Ya, sorry about that. I was kinda busy with someone. Not someone, someone. But with Pepper. She uh, needed help with something, I don't even know what it is cause she kept talking in code. She was like, I need for you to get something for someone, cause that someone...Crap!" Her fired yell is accompanied by a loud crash that sounds a lot like a gun.

"Is everything okay?" I sit up straighter in my seat to better listen to the background sounds.

"No, ya, everything's great. Nothing to worry about." This time, the sound is decipherable; it's the sound of a bomb.

"Liz! What are you doing? Get out of wherever you are right now!" I yell louder when I hear another blast through the speaker.

"No, no, no. I'm okay Steve. I'm not doing anything dangerous. I've actually hit my quota for danger. I'm sneaking into Tony's workshop to find something. And DUM-E here, won't stop blowing things up. Things that I will need to fix before Tony gets home from some meeting Pepper dragged him into, and he'll probably get here anytime soon, and Jarvis promised to keep quite as long as I don't involve him in any of this and honestly he just reminds me of the real Jarvis and...I should really stop talking. So, what's up?"

This is the only thing I look forward to every single day. This, and my visits with Peggy.

"Nothing much. Just the same old thing. I just wanted to talk to you." I don't want her to worry. I don't want her to know that I'm a fugitive. I just need to hear her voice.

"Alright then. I'm sorry Steve but as much as I would love to talk to you, I need to cut the phone. Tony will be here any minute and I need to get the stuff I need and get out of here before he asks questions I won't be able to give answers to. And you know how much Tony hates unanswered questions. I'll call you soon okay?"

My heart sinks in disappointment but I (unnecessarily) keep my expression neutral so that Natasha won't notice anything. A sudden idea comes to my head.

"Yeah. Hey, Liz can you do me a favour?"

"Sure." The answer is immediate.

"Can you get me information on an Alexander Pierce?" I receive silence from the other line. It's expected. Everyone knows who Alexander Pierce is.

"You mean _the_ Alexander Pierce?" She says after a long pause.

"Yep." The pause I receive now is much longer, I afraid she's left the call.

"Alright. Bye Steve." There's a desperate urgency to her voice and realize that she's in a hurry.

"I'll talk to you soon." I say. Saying goodbye seems too definite, as if I won't ever get to see her or talk to her again.

The line goes dead.

Without looking at Natasha, I continue driving, not taking my eyes off the road. Soon enough, (as expected) my companion's coy voice fills the silence.

"I get it now." Her feet go back up on the headboard.

"Get what?" I ask, not bothering to tell her to put her leg down, telling her what to do is pointless anyway.

"Why you won't go out with Sharon or Kristen." Her voice gets irritably furtive every second.

"And why is that." I ask her, trying to stall the inevitable.

"Because, you have your eyes set on a particular Stark. And it's not Tony." Her answer is confident and sure and I'm going to have to prove her otherwise before Tony hears all of this makes it into a big fuss.

"She's a really good friend Natasha. She's the first person I really talked to ever since I woke up to this time." I tell her truthfully. She's a real good agent, capable of interpreting lies. So, I just tell her the truth, or part of it.

"Oh no Captain. You're not getting off the hook that easy. I saw the way you were when you talked to her. You looked...in love." She teases with merciless glint in her eye and a really, weird, horrible accent.

"Natasha, Liz is a good friend. She's helped me through a lot of stuff, and we talk on the phone often. That's all there is. Now can we please drop the subject?" I articulate, probably a bit too sternly.

"Alright, no need to get your panties in a twist." She casually dismisses.

I sigh. This is going to be a long ride.

 **Sam Wilson**

I look at the room in which Captain America and Black Widow are in and take a deep breath to prevent myself from squealing like a teenage girl. Every interaction, I've tried to act nonchalant, as if talking to a living legend didn't faze me at all. Now, there are two living legends just across my kitchen.

Steve filled me in on everything that has happened; Nick Fury's death, Alexander Pierce, and his newly acclaimed title as a S.H.I.E.L.D fugitive. Overall, he has got himself into some deep shit since the last time he saw me.

I fumble around the kitchen for a bit, unsure of what to do once my two guests come out, if they ever do.

Breakfast. I can make them breakfast. But what if they don't want breakfast? What if they're on some super agent diet and their breakfast require things I don't have?

I realize that in the midst of my worrying, I'm standing at the end of the tiny hallway that leads to the room where I can hear Steve and Natasha quietly talking. I don't want to interrupt, but I'm going out of my mind in here.

"...who I'm fighting." I only hear part of the statement and the atmosphere in the room doesn't look as tense as it was before. I figure it may be a good time to interrupt.

"I made breakfast. If you guys eat that sort of thing."

With one last look at Steve, who looks at Natasha, who looks at me, I walk away, leaving them to their private fugitive affairs, only for them to follow right behind me.

They stand awkwardly in my kitchen and I gesture them to the table, indicating that it is okay to sit there. They do, and I grab two glasses, fill them with orange juice and place it in front of them. Natasha takes a nice long drink, and sighs contently after she (immediately) finishes the whole glass. I silently offer a refill to which she silently nods thanks.

Steve on the other hand, freezes midway, the glass of orange juice halfway to his mouth.

"Steve?" Natasha carefully says, noticing the way the solider immediately tenses up, and goes stone still.

"I think I just realized the severity of the situation. I'm a fugitive, I have possible intel on a murdered man, and the only think I've ever known since I came here turned out to be a scam!" He yells, and I'm glad that he didn't bang his fist on the table and break it.

A phone rings and Natasha runs into the next room to retrieve it. She runs back into the room with a wide smirk on her face.

"Your lady love is calling." She sing-songs at Steve and despite the efficient glare he gives her, he snatches the phone and places it on the table, pressing speaker. Soon enough, Elizabeth Stark's (T _he Elizabeth Stark's)_ voice shadows the room.

"Sorry. I should have called sooner, but after I got the info you needed, I had to go in for an emergency at the hospital and that took until early morning and then I came home and I just crashed. I really didn't mean to ignore you and I know it's the second time I did that, but I totally spaced. And then Pepper came and asked me to tell Tony to get info on one of her clients, and I remembered you, not that I forgot you, your kind of hard to forget...I just remembered that I didn't call you...and I...uh...did some digging on Pierce."

Jesus! I heard this girl could talk, but I didn't realize how much. She only breathed for a millisecond, once!

"What'd you find?" Steve asks, a slight smile on his face.

"Alexander Goodwin Pierce, born August 18, 1936, so he and you are actually close in age. Uhhh, his dad served in the Airborne Division in World War which is how he became acquainted with military and the government I guess. He met Fury in Bogotá, when Fury disobeyed commands and saved a bunch of hostages including Pierce's daughter. Later on, Pierce appointed Fury as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. After Bogotá...Oh my God! He was recruited by HYDRA and got the title Undersecretary. So basically, he also became secretary to the World Security Council and used all the information he had for HYDRA. One of the most powerful men on the planet is a fake! A..." She goes deathly quiet for a second, as if someone came into the room.

I hear a chair scrape across the floor tediously, as if she was slowly getting up. I hear quite footsteps. I hear a sharp intake of breath. A breathy ' _What the hell!'_ and Steve probably couldn't take the suspicion anymore.

"Liz?"

"I just...I just saw a man. Staring at me outside my window. Which is really creepy. Cause I've never had someone do that to me before. Especially not at work! And that was one odd looking man." Her voice sounds shaken, which was dissimilar to how she spoke a few minutes ago; with brightness and life.

"What did he look like?" Steve sits up in his chair.

"Uhhhh, he had shoulder length brown hair, it was a he, had a... uh face mask up to his nose, and a black suit, probably Kelvar. The creepiest thing, his left arm...I'm not sure, but it looked...metal." She's about to say more but Steve interrupts her.

"What!" he grabs the phone and stands.

"Steve..."

"Are you alone? You shouldn't be alone in there. Maybe you should go home. It's much safer at the Stark Estate. Right?" Now, he's the one rambling.

"Steve. I'm good. Or did you forget that I have a strong set of electricity, ice and fire that can kill someone. I'll be fine. Why? Do you know this guy?" Her tone is bewildered. To be honest, so am I. I've never seen Steve this rattled; he's usually one to keep calm. There must be something about this guy...or Elizabeth.

He's about to say something, but I guess he just notices that his conversation isn't exactly private, so he walks away into the room leaving my wild imagination to go...wild.

When he comes back a few minutes later, it's not with a stone like appearance, a tense figure and a solemn face. He comes back looking relaxed and calm, and there is a slight smile on his face. He sits at the table, on the seat in which he had previously occupied and proceeds to drink his orange juice, not breaking contact from his phone all the while.

I look at Natasha, who in return looks at me. We share a knowing glance, she returns to her meal, and I return to cooking her meal.

Neither of us mentions the profound effect Elizabeth Stark seems to have on Steve Rogers.

 **Steve**

I'm numb, deaf and blind. There's nothing other than pain. There's nothing other than silence and darkness. And then, flashes of memories. Fury alive. Hell at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. Project Insight. Fighting Bucky. Destroying HYDRA. Saving Bucky. Bucky Alive. Bucky is the Winter Solider. Bucky tried to kill me.

Bucky.

Bucky.

Pain.

I feel the authenticity of the world as my brain regains consciousness leisurely. The first thing I hear is a slow melody accompanied by a soothing voice that overpowers the faint beeping of monitors. I try to escape the darkness, try to find some light, but the pain the follows my trying to open my eyes is unbearable. Not as much as the darkness though. It's agonizing, but at the same time frustrating. I get a glimpse of the light before my eyes shut again. The music is still playing, it sounds louder than before. I'm still numb and it's still dark. My eyes feel less heavy now, and I open it. It's a meticulous process, but when I'm done, I finally feel like I can breathe again. I still feel numb and frozen, and I hate it; being frozen. I can't move my head yet, but out of the corner of my eye, I spot Sam sitting, reading.

It's probably because of the serum, but I find my voice faster than I expected to.

"On your left." I rasp out, so quietly that I doubt her heard me.

But he did, and he smiles and exhales a breathy chuckle.

I smile back and feel a hot burst of pain, along with a fresh memory of Bucky, punching me, repeatedly. I try not to think about it for now. I try to listen to the music, I count the tiles on the ceiling, I remember the time when Liz told me that she wanted to renovate her recovery rooms to paint bright, happy colours instead of the customary bland ones.

It's only a few minutes later that the numbness leaves my body. It's only a few minutes later that I groan out in pain, finally feeling the aftermath of the fight with Bucky. It's only a few minutes later that I feel a familiar warmth on my right, along with a soft pressure on my right hand.

Focusing on the pain that I receive from gritting my teeth rather than the pain I receive from turning my head; I stare at the familiar brown hair, tumbling down in waves across the bed. Liz's face is covered by her arm that creates a cushion for her head while her other hand grips mine in a gentle hold. Her eyes are closed shut, and her breathing even, I keep still in fear I would wake her up.

"She's been here all night. Awake. She just fell asleep, after checking your monitors and the IV." Sam tells me, quieting down when I indicate him to.

In the end, a commotion outside of the room finally wakes Liz up. Her eyebrows flutter a countless number of times before it opens, and her nose scrunches up in an adorable manner, accompanying her yawn. I can't help but wonder how it must be to see her wake up every morning. But as soon as the thought appears. I dismiss it.

She looks around the room for a few seconds, as if she's confused as to why she's here, and then she seems to remember, and her head whips around and her gaze pierces mine.

"Hey." She whispers, scooting her chair closer to me.

"Hey." I rasp out in return.

"Nat called. Said you were pretty roughed up. Didn't realize how much until I came here. I mean how much did the other guy weigh to hit you that much. Wait; is the other guy even alive? He must have been in a worse shape than you and you're in pretty bad shape. You look terrible. I mean you look fine, but you have a lot of cuts a scrapes and you know...you're still you."

By now, craning my head to the side is too painful, so I resume my careful count of the tiles on the ceiling, revelling in the fact that the woman next to me can make me smile even in my darkest days.

"You okay?" She softly asks.

"Ya, I guess, considering the circumstances." I answer back as wittily as I can manage, and soon after, my eyes automatically close, unable to stay open, although I'm 98% conscious.

"Sass, isn't ever a good look on you Captain, especially when your croaking out the words on a hospital bed. You should get some sleep. Your body needs to recharge after all the drugs they pumped in you."

I feel her moving closer to me and moments later, her hands softly thread through my hair, the repetitive motion soothing enough to lull me to sleep. I seek her hand blindly and grab onto it, right before my brain shuts off for the moment.

When I wake moments later, Liz is gone.

A plate plied with pancakes, maple syrup and whipped cream is placed on her seat on my bedside. Along with it a note, reading;

 **Emergency came up at the hospital. Had to leave. Sorry.  
Pancakes are my comfort food, I asked the doctor and he said that you'll be okay if you eat them. Plus, it's much better than having Jello. Hope you feel better!**

 **Liz**


	4. The Age of Battles and Dancing

**The Characters and the plot of this story belongs to Marvel Studios.**

* * *

 **Avengers: Age of Ultron**

 **Age of Dancing**

 **Liz**

 _Damn._

Out of every HYDRA base we've ever demolished during the past few months, this might be the most protected and secluded one. It's set in the middle of pine trees and snow that stretch for miles, the city of Sokovia conveniently located on the outskirts of the forest, obliviously providing a shield for those who wish to cross to the base.

"Incoming." I warn as what looks like an inferior version of Tony's suit comes charging at me.

I easily throw it off course with a surge of lightning as I faintly hear Natasha and Clint fend off their attackers from below me.

"On your right ." Friday cautions and I conjure a wall of ice to surround me, posing as a barrier from the bullets that fly my way.

With a quick movement of my hand, the wall of ice is sent flying to the trunk of the tree, shaking the plant enough so that the soldiers that are perched on it tumble down to the snow. The blasts are constant, coming from all sides, and I work my way to dodge them and the trees. After finding no source of weaponry or soldiers perched on trees or in the sky, I make my way to the ground, where the real battle is taking place.

When I come down from my sky-high position, I laugh aloud at the picture that paints itself from my view. Natasha and Clint jump from their jeep into the air, Tony lowers himself somewhat above ground, the Captain makes a leap on his motorcycle while Thor leaps from the trees; all unknowingly aligning themselves perfectly, including Hulk who bends down slightly to match the height. Even funnier is the space that is left between Tony and Hulk; for me.

Not willing to destroy the perfect picture, I take my given spot and as quickly as I came, I fly forward, feet first into a defender that has his gun pointed right at me.

"Shit!" Tony's voice loudly infiltrates my ears, over the commotion of blasts and grunts.

"Language," Steve instinctively (I think it was instinctive) responds, "Liz anything?"

I'm messed up. Something is definitely wrong with me. Why? Because I can sense Loki's sceptre. I literally feel a surge of energy or some kind of vibe when it's near. When I noticed this during the Loki fiasco, I passed it off as adrenaline. But it became strange when I kept feeling the bizarre vibe whenever the sceptre was around. When I held it, the rush of energy that it gave, caused my powers to freeze the sceptre immediately as an unconscious way of protecting me. Now, I feel the same surge of energy. It's faint, but it's there.

"It's here." I confirm and I hear Thor's _'At long last'_ in response.

By now, my circle of attackers is lying on the floor, writhing in pain, but not dead. So, I follow the noise of guns (and people), which leads me to Nat. I send her a signal and she nods, allowing me to create a wall of red and orange around her as she says,

"A long last is lasting a little long boys."

When my feet touch the ground, I only have a moment to appreciate my masterpiece before Nat shoots at it, and the bullets change into great fireballs that blow a few feet in front of the intended target. I sigh in annoyance as I spot another armed group rushing towards me, and I charge at them, my electric rope doing the trick, but causing me to miss whatever Clint was saying.

However, I hear Tony loud and clear.

"Wait a second. No one else is gonna deal with the fact that Cap just said 'Language'?" My snort of laughter cannot be contained and I fly towards the man in question just as he responds.

"I know," I duck down to avoid getting shot, and get a clear view of him flipping off his bike and then hurling it at the great tanker that was approaching him, "just slipped out."

I look at the wrecked bike.

"Hey, that was a really nice bike!" I exclaim in frustration, as I weave my legs through a tree branch and flip up to avoid the tank that comes at _me,_ causing it to crash into the tree instead.

"You can buy me a new one." His voice sounds clearer and louder than before, and I turn to see that it's because he's right behind me. Before I can respond, a blast goes off behind me and I sigh in apology (though I don't know what I'm apologizing for) before sprinting towards the blast.

It turns out that the blast got the intended outcome; to lure in an Avenger (even though I'm not legally and officially an Avenger yet) into the field.

"I really don't want to hurt you. So how about a peaceful retreat. I'll back off, and you guys do the same. Fair?" I yell, but brace myself nevertheless.

The answer comes in the form of a bullet that grazes my hair.

"Well, don't say that I didn't try."

Honestly, it was a hard battle. There were 18 of them and one of me. And despite my powers and skills, they still got a few punches in. When I'm done, I walk away from the tank, wiping of the blood that trailed down to my cheekbone.

I run towards the familiar blue and red, and his shield goes up in defence when he _hears_ me coming; the shield goes down when he _sees_ me coming. I give him a small smile, reassuring him that I'm fine as he gently places his hand right under my cut, his calloused thumb rubbing back and forth.

We've both been dancing around each other for months now, waiting for the other to make his or her move. But neither of us hesitates during the quirky banter, obvious flirting, and frequent touches. I'm sure the rest of the team have a betting pool and most of them are getting quite impatient and annoyed, with the exception of Bruce who usually minds his own business.

I'm pulled out of my musing when I hear Clint's grunt of pain and Nat worriedly calling his name. But before I can even breathe, I'm on the ground by an invisible force that felt very similar to someone pushing me down. An enhanced human.

I get back up on my feet as Cap confirms my thoughts and yells into his earpiece (we've tried explaining so many times that there was no need to yell but he never listens and gives us an earache every time).

"We have an enhanced in the field!"

We both run blindly in the direction where 'Speedy' just came from. We've never came face to face with any of the enhanced before. Sure, there was a rumour that HYDRA had some, but during our battles against HYDRA during the last few months, we had no proof to deem the rumour true. Now, we do.

Steve and I both work on attacking the soldiers that conveniently formed two groups, one for him and one for me. In the middle, I hear Tony scream,

"The drawbridge is down people!" Which I suppose is an indication that he found a way to get through the barrier.

Steve and I finish off our designated groups just as Thor hits the ground with his hammer, knocking out several others and quite possibly me if Steve hadn't held me steady. I send him (Thor) a glare and he apologetically bows, rising when I feel the smile on my face.

"The enhanced?" Thor asks.

"A blur. Quite literally. He just came in a whooshed across all of us. If he didn't leave the snow paths, I would honestly believe that there was some kind of invisible force, which is much worse since we might be able to deal with something that we can see. Well, we can't exactly see...it, him, her...did any of you manage to see the gender. Cause I'm not so sure if it was a she or he. It's not as if I had the time to check. Wait, are we sure, it's a person? It could be a really advanced robot that can move in the speed of light. Actually, come to think of it, it's not possible. Did you see their robots? They suck!" I stop when I notice that the world has not stopped in the events of my ramble and that life still goes on, and I missed an entire conversation.

"You and I are gonna help Stark secure the sceptre and everyone else is going to the jet." Steve sums up for me.

I notice about a hundred soldiers and about 10 tanks formatting a circle to surround us. Steve and Thor notice too.

"Come on. We need to finish this so that we can get out of here."

I rise up to the air and wait for no more than 2 seconds. In a flurry, Thor sends his lightening to Steve's shield that bounces the now amplified lightning up to me. I feel the familiar jolts of energy surrounding me and I absorb the lightening, adding some of my own, and then projecting it out as a great wall, knocking out everyone at a 40-mile radius. The pin everyone on the team wears above their hearts makes them immune to the hit. Can't say much about Speedy though.

"Find the sceptre." Thor says, before doing his hammer thing and flying into the air.

"And for gosh sake..." Tony starts.

"Watch your language." My brother and I say in unison, although I'm the only one that giggles at the end.

Steve bows his head in defeat and mumbles something I can't hear because I'm now running towards the HYDRA base.

"Catch up, grandpa." I yell, knowing fully that he'll catch up in the matter of seconds.

Steve gets their faster than I do, probably because I made a short detour to check on Nat, but no one's gonna account for that anyway since everyone knows Steve runs like a super solider. When I get there, I'm stuck with an unconscious Strucker, and the knowledge that there is another enhanced human. A female. And that Tony is somewhere here, with the sceptre. I follow my instinct and the sizzling in my bones that indicate where the sceptre is.

I'm about to make my way through the huge doors when a girl stumbles out of the narrow hallway behind me. As soon as she sees me, she freezes. I cautiously approach her, afraid that she will run and get hurt if I make any sudden movements. However, she moves forward too, and raises both her hands to perform a weird array of movements that I don't quite catch, although I swear I could see a beam of red.

When she puts her hand down, she makes a move to walk away, but before she can, I stop her.

"Do you work here?" I ask.

She stops in her tracks and looks at me in shock. As if she can't believe I can talk.

"Are you alright?" I ask once again.

She moves back from me and nods her head frantically.

"I'm...I'm not gonna hurt you. But it'd be best if you get out here. This place was a warzone minutes ago, not that I helped or anything, but you should head out and go home. And probably never come here again. The place is probably closed down anyway. I mean if you worked for HYDRA, then I guess it shouldn't be hard finding another job." Her face doesn't seem so threatened anymore and there is a slight smile to her face, probably because of my rant.

"Found it!" My brother shouts loudly and I whip my head back to face him. He's holding the sceptre in his iron hand, but there's a slight haunted look to his face.

I quickly look away in search of the girl, but as I expected, she has disappeared.

So much for making friends in Sokovia.

 **Moments Later; In the Aircraft**

 **Liz**

"Ouch." I whisper under my breath when my brother presses the cotton harshly against my dried out cut.

We've been flying for a couple of hours now and despite the numerous, similar missions we've been on, we've yet to figure out how to compose ourselves quickly post-battle.

After we've all boarded the jet (assuming that we've haven't forgotten anyone), the entire space is full of chaos. Bruce hasn't gotten over his inebriated state, and still stumbles along. Thor yells loudly, and my brother tries to yell over him. It's a constant battle between Nat and Tony over who will fly the jet. Clint wants silence and will yell constantly until he gets it. Jarvis keeps popping up useless info on the ground around us. I'm trying to talk to everyone at once, which means I'm rambling more than usual. Steve is trying to be the Captain and give orders, but we don't listen. No one knows where to sit. Tony doesn't want to sit beside Thor because he smells bad. Bruce wants to be alone. Nat won't leave him alone. Tony won't let me sit with Steve. Clint prefers to stand, despite his wound.

By the time everyone is settled to take care of the minor injuries, hours have passed. Which takes me back to now.

Tony (tires to) cleans my wound up, but while I'm an exceptional doctor, I'm a terrible patient.

"Stay still would you." Tony reprimands me for the hundredth time.

"It burns." I quietly whine, fully aware that I sound like a spoiled child, but comfortable acting so around my brother.

He rolls his eyes, but blows gently on the cut, and then applies the cotton with the antiseptic again, this time much slower. He throws away the cotton ball, and places a tiny, Band-Aid on my cut, despite knowing my tendency to rip it off as soon as possible. However, I decide to humour him and keep it on for the time being.

Nat, who was tending Clint , gets up from her seat and sits on the floor, where Bruce is listening to the God-awful sound he calls music. They whisper back and forth for a bit, and I try not to smirk at the fact that they're dancing around their feelings as much I'm dancing around mine. The fact that only Natasha can subdue the Hulk is enough proof.

I get up and walk to Thor and Steve, who are also in deep conversation about something (what is it with whispered conversations today?), when they see me approaching, they immediately stop and look out the window and I internally laugh at their subtleness.

While Steve looks out the window, Thor smiles at me warmly. He's been staying with Jane for the past couple of months, which gave me plenty of opportunities to visit him and learn neat tricks with my powers. In return, he can now use a toaster without frying it and can answer a phone call without crushing the screen or causing a person to go deaf.

"Thor report on the Hulk." Nat says loudly.

We've been taking turns doing this. It was initially suggested by Maria Hill, who thought it would really help with Bruce's PTSD if we gave him a report on everything that he did. Most of the time, he stayed behind the scenes, but when he did Hulk out, the rest of us made sure to tell him how much he helped. We do leave out all the gruesome details, not wanting to make him feel worse. So far, Nat, Steve, and I have reported on the Hulk. Today, it's Thor's turn.

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims." Thor says proudly, the former courter of war making an appearance.

"Thor!" I admonish. Natasha looks at him with a wide eyed ' _what the hell!',_ Banner winces and buries his head in his hands, I see Tony's shaking form and Steve doesn't do a very good job in hiding his smile.

Thor realizing his mistake, attempts to fix it (in disdain).

"But not the screams of the dead of course. No, no, wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and gout." He hastily reassures with no success.

He looks at me apologetically and I shake my head, mirroring Steve's smile.

Tony distracts him from his episode by talking about the lab. He and Banner are practically besties ever since Manhattan. This means that Tony became good at talking about science to get Bruce's mind on something else other than the fact that he was a green giant with a really stupid conscience and terrible memory.

"Damn it! I need to pee." I say as I stomp away to appease my bladder, as a confused Steve seems more educated as to why I was shifting and moving awkwardly this whole time.

SHIELD should allot time for bathroom breaks.

 _ **Later On; In the Evening**_

 _ **Thor**_

I walk around the massive floors of the Avenger Tower, a great artefact indeed. I had promised Tony that I would remain here for the revel and so I walk around this enormous building looking for something to do, rather than stroll around aimlessly.

When I spot the kitchen, I decide to search for the incredible feast Earth calls Poptarts, which could possibly reside in Stark's kitchen. I increase my pace to hunt for my treasure and open every single cabinet looking for the delicious treat, but at the end, fine none. It is such a pity; I was looking forward to finally getting a bite. Jane purchases one for me every time I come back from battle; it is one of the things I love about her. Her ability to read me better than my own blood.

"You know you're gonna have to clean that up before Liz sees it right?" I look up in surprise.

In my concentration to locate the Poptarts, I hadn't noticed the Captain walk in the room. I also hadn't noticed the mess I had made during my search. The entire floor is littered with the contents that were previously in the cabinet. I get up from the floor and give him a nod.

"I didn't intend to make a mess, I just wanted Poptarts." I explain.

I bend down, pick up an odd package, and proceed to place it in the cabinets, but stop halfway when I spot Lady Stark.

She sits on the thick rim of the balcony, a glass of wine in hand, and from what seems like it, deep in thought. Captain Rogers notices my distraction and also turns to spot the Lady. I step through all the items on the floor and make my way towards the balcony, the Captain hot on my heels.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" I start, looking at the starry sky.

Elizabeth turns in shock, but immediately relaxes when she identifies her audience. She gets off the balcony, smiling a hello.

"Ya, I like stargazing. I used to do it all the time with my mom and Tony. My dad refused to come. He wasn't really a fan of sleeping on the ground so he stayed in with my Uncle drinking whiskey and talking about politics. The three of us; mom, Tony and I had a blast though. We'd build a campfire, tell scary stories, roast marshmallows and sometimes, during the very rare occasion, my dad would come out and bare the outdoors for a few minutes to tell us the story of the scrawny Steve Rogers. Tony and I loved it." She quickly flies off topic, but I don't care because the story I got instead was much entertaining.

"Glad I could be of entertainment. But what's got you so unsettled?" The Captain's tone started amused but rapidly turned concerned.

"Nothing." Liz replies, with a huge smile that assured me that everything's all right.

"You're doing that thing with your locket." The Captain doesn't give up.

"What thing?" She says, but immediately drops her hand from where she was fiddling with the necklace she always wore.

"Liz..." The Captain's tone is warning, and Liz sighs in defeat.

However, she turns towards me to speak.

"You know Loki's sceptre and the Tesseract?"

I nod, getting a faint sniff on where she is going with this.

"Why the hell can I sense it? Why can I feel it? It's weird Thor. I have no connection to the sceptre or its owner. And it's not just the sceptre; it's also the Tesseract. I'm around and it feels like there are sets of electricity coursing through my veins. It gets stronger as I get closer to it. Like an itch that needs to be scratched. Though I don't know how to scratch it. What am I supposed to do to get the itch to go away?" She asks me.

I've contemplated this question many times. I've also contemplated the answer.

"Loki sceptre is another magical piece that works wonders. You saw what it did to Barton. You see, magic can come it all sorts of shapes and sizes. I've encountered a sort of powerful magic myself recently. And I've learned that some magic can have the attributes of a person. People attach themselves to others. And so my theory, Loki's sceptre and the Tesseract, or whatever magic that was in it, attached itself to you." I explain. I lie.

I don't know why Liz has such a strong reaction to the sceptre. During my time trying to remove the Aether from Jane, and destroy Malekith, I've learned about the power of Aether, which was very similar to the Tesseract and Loki's sceptre. But the only person that could sense the Aether was Malekith, who created the source. No one, not Loki or Malekith, could sense the Tesseract in Asgard. No one except Elizabeth Stark. But I don't want to worry her with such information and so until I can figure it out for myself, I shall not tell her of my findings.

Elizabeth sighs, as if the answer isn't enough for her, but nods anyway. She walks back to the balcony and reappears. In her hand lays a familiar package.

"I bought you these when we came back. It's strawberry. Jane told me they were your favourite. She also told me that you like to eat them post-battle. But then I forgot to give them to you and when I went to get a glass of wine I saw the box so I ended up eating it."

"I'm grateful for your kindness Lady Stark." And I will figure out the connection between you and the magic in the sceptre and Tesseract.

She smiles and walks away, but only Captain Rogers notices her walking into the kitchen.

"Thor! What the hell did you do to the kitchen?"

Oops.

 _ **A few Mornings Later**_

 _ **Bruce**_

I walk down the steps and out of the recently built workshop, right into a swarm of people and chaos. Technicians plugging and hiding wires on the walls, decorators hanging lights and placing flowers, chefs preparing a meal for a hundred, and in the middle of it all, Elizabeth Stark alternating from chopping onions, handing out tools, arranging flowers or helping the DJ set his table.

When she spots me, she waves and after murmuring something to the DJ, walks up towards me with a warm smile. It's her expertise; warming and welcoming a person as if they were her long lost family. In fact, I think she considers everyone her family.

Either way, I'm glad she found me first. I came up here to talk to her and I'm not particularly comfortable searching through this crowd for her. I was hoping she could find a way to get Tony to obsess less over Ultron (I'm assuming she knows about it) and get out of his workshop.

"Finally, there you are. You and Tony have been holed up in that lab of yours for so long; I was beginning to think I would need a SWAT team to get you two out. I would have come myself, but my brother has the tendency to erratically announce a party and go under the delusion that the tooth fairy will set everything up for him. I've been making calls all day yesterday trying to find a DJ and confirm the guest list and get chefs and my brother's been playing with his toys! Usually I worry, but since he's with you, I'm not so scared he's going to get himself killed. What are you two doing down there anyway? He's not dead, is he?"

She rambles, all the while whizzing around the room, pushing furniture and silently asking people to make deliveries all the while being at a listening distance so that I can hear what she's saying and learn that she does not know about her brother's obsession. She looks stressed enough; I don't want to bother her with more. My train of thought is cut of when Liz yells,

"Wait no, don't put that there! The disco ball goes there." And she runs off, to where a woman tries to hangs a silver item on the ceiling.

"She's been like this all day." Natasha tells Steve and inevitably me, who she just walked beside.

"Wow." Steve says, voicing my thoughts as we watch the petite brunette argue with someone on the phone while working her way through the kitchen.

"What. No. No. I will not invest in that. Those are meds are for children Sam. They're metabolism might not be able to take it. And I'm not taking any chances. So get that out of the Kid Care system." She talks into her earpiece while stirring a pot of whatever and then running off to where a couple of people place balloons.

"Yes, thank you. And can you please tell Charlotte to find Max. He's meeting with seven patients this afternoon and no one has seen him since he left for Brazil. Ok and...No! You can't put peanuts on any of the meals; I have 40 guests that have a strong reaction to even the smell of it. Ok Sam, I really need to go. I call later." She hangs the phone and sprints to the kitchen, only to be stopped by Steve, who places his hands on her hips and twirls her around.

"Steve, I need to..."

"Slow down. You need to slow down. It's just a party Liz. A non-substantial party. And everyone's got it handled, you don't need to help." Steve tries to calm her.

"Not help? What do you want me to do; lounge here with a glass of martini while these people work their asses off? And plus, if I don't fix everything then the contractors and the decorators are going to argue about how much space they used, the cooks are going to complain that the DJ is playing the music too loud and what was supposed to be a calm workday will turn into a brawl. And that is the last thing I need today. God, I don't even know what to wear." She rambles, but obediently sits on the chair Steve pulls for her.

"I've got you covered." Natasha says and gets rewarded with Liz's smile of gratitude

"You still need to tone it down a bit." Steve tells her.

"Ya. And since when did you start giving orders?" She swings back at him.

"Since I became your Captain. And since you've yelled so much, your face is red as the day we met." He replies immediately.

"I was not red when we met." Liz denies hotly, and I'm too busy looking at their flirtatious expressions to look away.

"I remember that moment as clear as day. You were blushing red." Steve takes a step forward to where she sits.

"Maybe that was because I was this close to getting hit by a punching bag that some random hot stranger sent flying across the room." She says lowly, leaning forward. By now, Liz and Steve are so close their knees are touching.

I look at Natasha who rolls her eyes in annoyance rather than surprise. Actually, it isn't a surprise to any of us anymore. Liz and Steve have been flirting like this and way worse for months now, and I don't think they realize what they're doing or the picture they paint to the rest of us.

"You thought I was some random hot stranger." Steve says with a mischievous, victorious smile that widens when Liz's eyes widen at what she revealed. She's gets over it quickly and bites her lip to prevent herself from smiling.

"No, I think you should help Larry with the disco ball." She almost whispers (the Captain is so close that if she speaks louder, he might go deaf) as she hands him the hammer conveniently placed on the kitchen counter.

Steve moves away and slightly tips his head, while teasingly saying,

"Yes Ma'am." And walks off to help Larry (whoever that is) while Liz goes back to the kitchen.

God! Those two should go ahead and kiss already!

 **Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I went on vacation and my brain thought (while packing) that my laptop wasn't necessary since I wouldn't get time to use it anyway. Boy was I wrong (seems that there isn't really much to do in an airport when your flight is delayed).**

 **PinkMeadow**


	5. The Age of Parties and Robots

**The Characters and the plot of this story belongs to Marvel Studios.**

* * *

 _ **Avengers: Age of Ultron**_

 _ **Age of Parties**_

 **Natasha**

"But never say never." I flirtatiously say as a parting, before I walk away, martini glass in hand.

I call it flirting, but I know this is different. I've flirted before; many times during missions, but none had me telling even a spindle of truth. I just walked away from Bruce baring my entire soul, and I feel more conflicted than ever.

"That looked cozy." I look up from my martini glass and spot a beaming Elizabeth Stark enter the party (she had an emergency in the hospital and informed everyone she would be running late).

The dress I picked out for her turned out to work wonders. Liz wears a red halter neck dress, net on the upper body with tiny little slits on her waist. It moulds against her lean form before ending a few inches above her knee. Her waist-long hair is stylishly curled and complicatedly pinned with a pearly barrette that matches her pearl earrings. Her face, which is usually devoid of any makeup, now has some, in subtle ways except for the bold red painted on her lips. It looks like she just put a touch of mascara, a hint of eyeliner, and a brush of blush.

All in all she looks sexy as hell (I'll admit that) and I regret not asking her to text me before she arrived so that I could get Stark to create a Cinderella themed entrance for her (Steve would have gotten his balls busted).

"Looking good Stark." I compliment as she walks over to me, her stilettos gaining her a few inches in height.

"It wasn't me. It was Charlie. She had a family thing today but she came in the office for something, saw the dress, and claimed that there was no way I could pull it off without her. So I spent the next hour being her personal Barbie doll while she tried on different styles and gushed over the fabric. I mean, it feels like any other dress to me. But anyway, sorry it took so long to get here, I had to argue with Charlie to discard the hot red and instead she went for this shade. Thanks for the dress by the way; you put my friend in girl paradise." She rambles self-consciously.

"You look amazing." I genuinely tell her.

"Thanks. So do you. And I'm sure Bruce thinks so too. He hasn't stopped staring at us or more specifically, you." She teasingly says as she links her arm through mine and leads me to the balcony of the Avenger Tower, away from the crowd.

When we come to a stop, and the cool air flirts with our hair, she crosses her arms in front of her chest and gives me a knowing, _'spill it'_ look.

"If I tell you about Bruce Banner, then you have to tell me about Steve Rogers. Cause that sexual tension is knocking everyone off their feet." I tell her, entering taboo topic.

"I like Steve. Like really like Steve. He's great and nice and he makes me laugh. He listens to my rambles and gives me hugs when I'm sad. But I have no idea what to do. At first, I was waiting for him to make a move, give me a sign. But he's so mixed. Sometimes we're this close to kissing, and then he just pulls back, coughs and walks away. What the hell am I supposed to do Nat? And now we dance around each other like a bunch of middle school children. And with all the HYDRA invading and sceptre searching, I feel as if we haven't had a real moment together. Now that we've found the sceptre, I don't know what his next move is. I'm going to stay with my brother and he's going to what, move to Brooklyn?" The words all come tumbling out as I expected it would.

She bites her lip (probably to prevent herself from talking more) and elaborately gestures her hand at me, indicating that it's my turn to talk.

"Pretty much in the same situation. I don't what to do because I don't know how he feels, and he's so shy and scared and I don't want to rush something that could not work out." I sum up before joining her to look at the night sky.

"Look at us. We can take down evil organizations, save an entire city, and battle aliens, but we can't get the guts to kiss a guy." Liz laughs.

"So, how are Laura and the kids? You visited them right? When you and Clint made a fake impromptu visit to SHIELD and then got called on a mission that was so confidential you guys didn't speak about it when you came back with all smiles and no bruises." She not so subtly changes the topic and I don't complain.

"They're great. She's pregnant, again. Hopefully it's a girl. And I will tear out Clint's balls if he doesn't name her Natasha." I say, almost seriously.

"Ya, I know. Not the extreme threat on Clint's man parts but the pregnancy part." At my questioning glance she continues,

"I really wanted to meet Clint's family, but I couldn't, meet them in person because, Tony Stark's my brother and Tony is...Tony. So Clint arranged for me to meet them over face chat, which was great. I mean Laura's the nicest person on earth and she told me about all about Clint, things I didn't know about. And Cooper told me that Liz is too short of a name so he calls me Beth and I got introduced to every single doll Lila owns, including the Avengers. Did you know that they make dolls of us?" I smile at her, and feel a pang of nostalgia when she describes the people that have grown on me in the past couple of years.

"How many times did you talk to them so far."

"I don't know. At first, it was whenever Clint set us up, for a video chat. And then, I called Laura up myself when I needed advice on kids. And then she called me up when she needed a virtual babysitter."

I'm about to say something when another voice interrupts from the doorway.

"Can the two pretty ladies come back to the party?" Clint teases, but I don't miss the way his eyes widen at Liz (the bastard may be married, but who can't look?).

We walk back into the party, all eyes on Liz and our previous conversation forgotten, with a silent pact not to speak about it ever again.

 **Steve**

When I first saw her descending down the stairs in that tight, red dress, I choked on my drink, causing Maria to pat my back (while giving me that knowing grin I've been receiving from everyone concerning Liz) and Tony to openly glare at me. After choking, I couldn't take my eyes off her.

She was always beautiful. Probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever met, but I've never seen her dressed up like this, ever. I'm convinced Natasha picked out the dress just to torture me. It's not scandalous in any way, but the dress moulds her tiny frame like a second skin, with transparent net that plunges down her neckline and slits on her waist that show off her creamy skin. And it certainly doesn't help my boiling blood that I can see her red lips all the way from across the room.

So here I am, attempting to get my body in control while walking with Sam, but not really paying attention to what he's saying due to my distracted thoughts and wandering eyes to find Elizabeth Stark. I crane my head when I spot a flash of red, but continue walking when it turned out to be a waitress serving cocktails in her red uniform.

 _This is ridiculous Steve. You'll bump into her or she'll come looking for you, no need to act like a lovesick puppy._ I chastise myself when I look at Sam who seems to be aware of my disinterest.

"Are you looking for something? Someone perhaps? Preferably a brunette, sexy, whose billions could help thousands of people." Sam annoyingly says, and I am quick to defend.

"Her billions do help thousands of people." It comes out harsher than I intended.

"Whoa, I just described more than half of the women in this room. I didn't realize you had someone particular in mind." His fake ignorance is merciless, but I don't have time to hover on it. as I spot the sexy, billionaire brunette I was looking for.

Without bothering to excuse myself, I walk straight towards Liz, who is crouched down behind a pillar. In my entrancement of her, I don't notice a highly panicked Thor who crouches down in front of her. I finally take my eyes off her, when Thor rushes over to me and I only grasp half of what he splutters out, but half is more than enough.

"Rogers, it wasn't my fault. I didn't intend for this to happen when Elizabeth drank the Asgardian drink. I intentionally only put a drop, which didn't affect her at all, but she's smarter than I accounted for because she switched my drink with hers and my drink was pure Asgard and now she's really drunk and mumbling and Tony is going to murder me."

When everything he says processes in my head, I stare at him in wide eye shock.

"Are you telling me that you got Elizabeth Stark drunk?"

I hear Thor's sheepish "As a matter of fact, yes", but I don't pay any attention to him. Instead, I make my way to Liz who sits cross legged on the floor (thankfully away from the public), which rides her dress all the way up to mid thigh, but I ignore it (with effort). When she spots me, her eyes light up and her face splits into a beaming drunken smile, and damn me straight to hell if it isn't the cutest thing I've ever seen.

"Steve! You're here. I've missed you. Thor here is no fun. He keeps shushing me." She states passionately, her hands flailing all over the place as gestures.

I look at Thor apologetically because I know he's not going to like what I'm going to say.

"Thor, get Tony." And I stone my face, which tells him there is no room for arguments, especially when Liz cries out,

"Yay, Tony. I love Tony. He's my favourite person in the entire world. And guess what?" She looks at me with childishly wide eyes.

Thor sighs and walks away to his inevitable doom, and I sit beside Liz,

"What." I decide to humour her.

She leans close to me so that her breath tickles my neck and I can smell her familiar strawberry scent. She whispers and I work to keep my breathing and heart rate normal.

"Tony's not actually my brother. He's my...uncle." And she falls on the ground laughing as if it was the funniest thing on earth.

When she finally gets over her laughing spell, she suddenly gets up and stares at me.

"You have really pretty eyes. The prettiest. They're blue. Really blue. The bluest of all blue. Sometimes it feels like your eyes are going to burn me, even though they're blue. Steve, maybe your eyes should have been red, but red eyes kind of scare me. Like pigeons." She babbles on, and before I can fully decipher her words, she yawns and places her head on my chest.

"And you're hot. How is that even possible? You can't be funny, nice, sweet and hot all at the same time." She stabs her index finger on my chest and it the spot burns as if she used her heat to scorch through my shirt.

"You even have a lot of abs. And you're funny. And you're sweet. And...Did I mention that you were hot?"

I smile. Drunk Liz is highly amusing. Normal Liz would have been blushing red by now, but drunk Liz doesn't seem to fully comprehend what she's saying.

"And it really sucks for me. Because I really, really, really, really, really, really, a hundred more times really like you. But you don't really, really, really, really, really, really, a hundred more times really like me back." Her sad eyes look into mine, and I have the unbearable urge to kiss her right now. But I can't. So I'm more than thankful when her brother rescues me.

When she spots said brother, she releases her head from my chest, and wobbles her way over to him, all the while chanting his name to the 'Muffin Man' song.

I release the breath I didn't know I was holding.

I find myself moments later, in front of Thor's unpronounceable hammer, trying to lift the sucker, but making no progress as if the damn thing was stuck to the table.

"Steve, if your arms expand any more, I'm going to jump you." Liz says from her place beside Clint, her head resting on his elbow.

I freeze and return to my seat to take a long sip of my vodka, ignoring the snickering of everyone else and the "I did not need to hear that," from Tony.

I have learned that a drunk Elizabeth is not only amusing but shameless, openly admitting to every thought that flies through her head, whether it's about herself or someone else. So, far I have learned that she hated Thor's hair at first sight, she noticed Natasha's hair at first sight, she genuinely doubted what Clint could accomplish with a bow and arrow in an alien fight but took it back later on, she thinks that Maria Hill should be the head of SHIELD, when meeting Rhodey for the first time she thought that he would turn out to be a dumb idiot that ended up homeless, and last but definitely not least, she had a variety of inappropriate thoughts about me.

"Thor your hammer sucks." She whines, and shoots a stream of lightning at it, that sends it flying through the air.

She's not aware of the immediate silence the room went into and gets up, not bothering to pull her dress down, and I force myself to look at a shocked Thor.

 **Clint**

"I need to pee." She complains, in the petulant tone that I believed Tony Stark used when he was a child.

She kicks off her shoes, not bothering to care where it lands (on my knee and on Maria's foot) and stumbles her way to the bathroom, almost tripping on the floor, and leaves the living room basked in dead silence.

"So, my sister's powers are worthy." Tony states, and I don't think anyone in this room is surprised. We've all seen that girl use her powers in full force and it's awesome!

"Her powers are worthy, but she's a mean drunk." Rhodey complains, and I have to agree with that too. She's been a spitfire all evening.

"What up man, thinking about Jane?" I direct the question at Thor after a few more minutes of silence.

"No, Elizabeth." Is his muffled answer.

"Oooh, Jane's not going to like that." Maria says from beside me and I silently appreciate the new group dynamic that we have come up with ever since Manhattan. I silently appreciate that we can comfortably tease each other and remain strong as a team despite all the jabs.

"It should have affected her." Thor continues to mumble, more to himself than us.

"If you're worried about Lizzie's lightning lifting your hammer, then you don't need to. The lightning that you summon and the lightning that she has are made up of identical electric charges. It's probably why your hammer responded to her lightning." Tony assures, and I laugh at the fact that Thor might be worried that Liz, of all people, will steal his throne.

"No, the alcohol, it should have affected her." He says, confused.

"If you haven't noticed, the alcohol did affect her. She's a walking talking mess." I say, and now I'm confused. What the hell is Thor getting at?

"That's exactly it. She shouldn't be a walking talking mess. From what she consumed, she shouldn't even be walking and talking. She should be dead to the world." He shouts and when noticing everyone's face at his choice of words, he hastily clarifies.

"Asleep. Passed out. Not conscious." He explains.

"No worries man. Liz has always had a very high alcohol tolerance. She barely got drunk. It's probably because she acts consciously drunk half the time anyway." Rhodey assures him, but before Thor can get another word in, the room rings with a high pitch screech that makes me go deaf.

See, I can willingly admit that I have no knowledge of the world that Stark sees. His world is filled with numbers, equations, and mechanics. In other words, he's a genius, capable of accomplishing almost anything, making a scrap of metal seem like a work of art.

It's why my bow and arrow wielding self has a hard time believing that Stark has anything to do with this ugly machine, partially broken and covered in strings. However, it is Tony Stark's voice playing from the robot, confirming his opinions on peace and the only thought that comes into my mind is that the genius has fucked up severely.

But I'm shocked when Banner turns his head and looks at the billionaire, uttering one word that is verification to everyone that the doctor was also involved in whatever this was, in whoever this 'Ultron' killed.

"In the flesh. Or no, not yet. Not this chrysalis." His voice holds such bitterness and vengeance, and I wonder if anyone else can hear, or if it's just me slowly going out of my mind.

And although my eyes are trained on my mark (the ugly robot, who's apparently called Ultron) I keep going back to the person Ultron killed, knowing for a fact that all 467 guests that came to the party left, leaving the 10 of us, one who left the room for a bathroom break, drunk and defenceless, and yet to return.

It's as if she read my mind, and my worries, because she comes walking out of the hallway, standing beside the murderous robot she's hasn't noticed. And once again, I'm reminded how hard the Captain has it going for him, because being the protective brother he always is, Tony's hand is immediately and subtly replaced by red and gold, the hole in the middle charging and glowing, ready to make a move.

But Elizabeth Stark doesn't seem to be fazed by everyone's deathly silence, and follows her eyes to where ours is directed at, and giggles loudly at the robot.

"Ooh, you're a tangled mess. Need help with your wires? Tony, your suit is stuck, he can't move. And it looks ridiculous. You look ridiculous. There was this one time where I was decorating a tree, and the lights were so long and I was so little, I was always little- the shortest one in the class. Every year." She stops and for a moment, I hope some part of her brain realizes that the way this Ultron is looking at her could be considered dangerous and she would back off.

But instead, she walks closer to the robot, and stretches out her hand.

"I'm Elizabeth Stark. And what zany name did Tony come up with for you?" Her smile is as good-natured and as bright as she is.

"Ultron." Is the robot's only words, and I can almost see the changes it brings to Liz's face.

She immediately sobers up and hastily retreats, stumbling in the process.

"I'm on a mission. I'm on a mission." Ultron keeps repeating, and from somewhere in the room, I hear Nat's voice ask,

"What mission?"

The answer is loud and clear.

"Peace in our time."

And all hell breaks loose. Stark's Iron Legion come flying out of the walls, and I make an immediate dive for a drunken Liz, who sits on the floor, her eyes and mouth wide, imitating a child. I reach her at the same time as Stark, and he gives me a nod, that I ignore before I run away to take cover.

Hiding and running away aren't really my strong suits.

 **Liz**

The room is excessively bright. The air conditioning is too loud. This dress is so uncomfortable. And my head is out for my life. Over all, I feel terrible.

If I thought that it wasn't as terrible if I got to I open my eyes to a smiling Steve, then I was wrong when he immediately started talking.

"Well look who decided to wake up."

I groan and burrow myself under the covers some more.

"Not too loud. And would you turn the lights off on your way out." My voice is muffled due to my face in the pillows, but I suppose its audible enough.

And as much as I enjoy the rare moments when I get to hear Steve laugh, I can't help but want to yell at him (I don't think I'm capable of yelling at the moment either) for doing so.

"That might be the most efficient way I've ever gotten kicked out." He says.

It's still way too loud. And now it's way too hot. I turn around, to face the ceiling once more as faint memories of the night flash before my eyes.

Wearing that ridiculous red dress.

Drinking Thor's 1000 year drink.

Getting drunk.

Baring my heart out to the man sitting beside me.

Getting attacked by Ultron.

Passing out after...

Getting attacked by Ultron.

Ultron.

"Ultron!" I shout, wincing at the volume and the abrupt movement of getting up.

Steve looks at me, his face blank, but I pay no notice to that as I get out of bed.

"Please tell me that I dreamed that my brother actually created his peacekeeping program and that turned on him and attacked everyone and killed someone and went crazy!" I'm in the bathroom by now, but I'm shouting so that Steve can hear me.

"Liz..." His hesitant voice is all the confirmation I need and I growl at the thought of my brother.

"I cannot believe he went and did that. I told him many times that giving a robot that much power _will_ backfire and he promised me that he would keep it as one of his theoretical dreams. He promised! And then, he goes behind my back to create the very thing that I told him not to. Not only that...Steve can you pass me a pair of clothes?"

I'm stripped down to my lacy bra and matching underwear. My face has been rubbed clean of all the makeup, and I just dipped my head in the water to remove the hair products and now my hair lays damp on my bare back, curling at the end, and teasing my waist.

"Wh- what?" He stutters and I have to overlook my angry state to mentally admit that he sounds adorable flustered, usually he's the only one that has his cool.

"Not always." He says, and I can see (I'm looking in the mirror) the blush that creeps into my face when I realize that I said all that out loud.

I quickly move behind the door when it slightly opens and Steve hands shoot out. Without looking at what he gave me, I quickly grab it and he closes the door just as fast.

I come out minutes later, wearing the t-shirt and joggers that Steve picked, and striding past the door without even sparing the solider that lounges on my bed a glance, with a single purpose.

To give my brother some serious ass kicking.

(But since when was things with my brother ever as simple as that?)


	6. The Age of Arguments and Revelations

**The Characters and the plot of this story belongs to Marvel Studios.**

* * *

 **Age of Arguments and Revelations**

 **Natasha**

My patience is nonexistent as I shoot daggers at my sworn enemy, my foot tapping progressive beats on the tiled floor, and my hands bunched into fists, unaware of how long this will take, how long I can take this.

It was supposed to be a simple task, but now I sit here and wait, missing out on what could possibly be the greatest moment since the atomic bomb.

"What are you doing?" Maria appears beside me, her face a mixture of confusedness and amusement.

Behind her, the remaining avengers stare at me, and I throw my head back and frustratingly let out what could be considered a growl.

"Stark and Stark are having their very first fight. A real serious fight that could potentially end up in separation. I'm popping popcorn for the occasion." I explain, releasing all my impatient energy when the microwave beeps repeatedly, indicating the complete popcorn.

When I look back to my teammates, I'm shocked to find that _they're_ shocked; do they even know me? I look to my best friend hoping to find some reassurance and I'm relieved when I do.

Clint walks up to me and grabs the popcorn bag out of my hand, and walks away, saying,

"I have the perfect spot to watch. The new AI can help us listen through the glass."

I smirk, proud of my friends, and glare at the others when they wordlessly follow, finally realizing that seeing Liz and Tony fight is not an event to be missed. When Clint finally comes to a stop, I have to suppress the urge to hug him, because of course, this is the perfect room!

In reality, it's just a spare room, but high tech glass replace the walls, giving us a good look at the gym from North to East and Tony Stark's tech room from South to West. Rhodey moves over to the glowing panel (not before patting Clint on the back) and presses a few buttons, confirming his identity.

"Friday, obstruct us from view and disable soundproof."

Immediately, the room is filled with Liz's angry shrieks.

"I cannot believe you!" She screams; her stance stiff and angry.

To my surprise, her opponent's stance looks identical, despite my belief that it would be apologetic.

"I did what I thought would be the best for this world. Isn't that what we all do? We protect the world by our beliefs on what is right." He isn't yelling, but his manner is as tense as his sister's is.

"What could have possibly made you think that a suit of armour around the world would do it any good? How the hell is that even supposed to protect it? The world is not a suit Tony. I don't know where this obsession to build Ultron even came from, I mean you were fine a couple-"

"I saw you die!" Tony roars, and I think it's the first time I've ever seen him yell this loud.

 **Rhodey**

Liz, along with the rest of us is shocked into a deathly silence.

"When I went to get that sceptre, I saw you and the others die. Rogers told me that I could have done something. That I didn't try harder. You said my name before I saw the life leave your lungs. And it got me thinking that I could have done something, anything. And therefore, Ultron." The revelation is a blow to our stomachs and I look at a slightly pale Steve, who listens to his involvement in this.

"Tony that wasn't real. It was the advanced, playing with you. I think she wanted you to see what you saw and do what you did. But nothing was real." Liz's voice takes on a note of softness and calmness but it doesn't change the (barely concealed) hysteria in Tony's.

"But what if it did happen. There is another world out there Liz, and some of it is out for blood. We need to protect our planet. I need to protect you." He rationalizes and I already know that this is going to turn into an argument, it always has.

"No you don't Tony. You don't need to protect me. I can do that on my own. You don't need to take special precautions so that I can be safe." She reasons, but I notice the way her patience flatters.

"I need to protect you. In case you can't." He states stubbornly, and I question whether I should go down there to resolve this before it blows up.

Because I know it will, because right there and right then, Liz's patience snaps.

"Tony, I don't mean to burst your little bubble, but I'm twice more capable of taking care of myself with my powers and training than you ever will be able to." It's a harsh blow and that's how I know Liz is reaching her limit.

"You know, sometimes you think you know what you're doing but you don't. You don't even know what you have. You're in danger because of those powers, they endanger you every single moment in your life." He states arrogantly, but only I, his best friend, can see that he's hanging onto a thread of control.

"Are you kidding me? Those powers have saved your ass one too many times. Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they're harmful to me. And I don't get why you're turning this on me. This is about you, living in some sort of fantasy where I'm more threatened then everyone else in the planet. Because Tony, sometimes you may be too selfish to see, but some people don't have metal suits or fancy powers, all they have is a small house that they can barely afford and not enough money to get out of the country when disaster strikes. So don't you go on about how my life is in danger—"

"YOU WERE BORN BY A LIGHTNING BOLT BLASTING MY SISTER'S STOMACH OPEN!" I flinch at the dose of hardened truth that Tony spews, because no one has ever told Liz that. Yes, it was a fact that we've all been aware of, but no one has ever directly said it outright to her.

And just as expected, Liz flinches back as if she's been slapped. And Tony takes a breath to calm down and I know it will take ten seconds, before one of them speak again. I look back to our spectators and wonder if I should usher them out. When I initially came in, I thought this would be a comical moment of watching Tony's ass be handed to him, but it turned out to be much raw and real then that, and I don't know how to stay...or look away. But before I can decide, Tony's voice once again fills the room, this time soft and gentle.

"Do you remember the day when you burned mom?" He says and I have no idea where he was going with this, but remember that day as if it were yesterday.

Liz was around thirteen years old and still learning how to control her powers. Her mom was yelling at her for sneaking out, but she paid no attention, finding her phone much more interesting. Her mom got angry and proceeded to grab the phone out of her hands, but Liz's reflexes were developed even then, so she pulled back. It was a tug of war between mother and daughter along with harsh words thrown back and forth. Finally, Liz hand enough and screamed at her mom to let go, while giving an abrasive pull, her powers, more specifically her fire, surfaced and she burned her mom. She felt bad for days, and apologized whenever she could and I have no idea why Tony would bring that day up.

"You came into my room afterwards and you cried. You cried and you begged me to get rid of them. You said you didn't want it. I don't remember much of it, because all I could focus on was that you were crying Lizzie. You were sobbing and screaming and I never wanted you to be like that ever again. And so I told you –"

"That you weren't going to let anything happen to me. I held you onto that. I still do. But that doesn't mean that you have to treat me like glass Tony." Liz speaks after a very long time and I can remember why I used to be so envious of their bond before.

I press a couple of buttons that turn on the soundproof glass and ignore the others' disappointed gaze.

"Show times over guys. We have a robot to catch."

 **Liz**

"He's your brother Liz. He's programmed to love you. And to him, loving you means protecting you." Laura says over the phone and I sigh in anger, because I know she's right.

"I know. I just wish that I was normal and he was normal and our lives were normal enough so that he doesn't have to protect me from robots and gods, but boys and paparazzi. But instead, I'm stuck with this. Never mind, forget about me, how are you. How are the kids?" I ask her, quickly switching the subject to something positive.

"I'm doing great. The kids are doing well. But we'd be doing better if there wasn't a creepy robot targeting three people we love." And I feel a jolt of warmth in my chest at being included into the group. I also feel the need to reassure her, as the worry isn't good for her.

"We're going to be fine Laura. The good thing about all of this is that Tony created him. And so he must know how to...not create him." I rest my arms on the balcony and I'm not sure whether I'm comforting her or me. Laura sighs again, this time much louder, and I rack my brain for another reason as to why we're going to be okay.

I don't get the chance to however; as the phone is (rudely) taken away from me by its owner and I glare at him (despite it being his phone and his family).

"I was using that." I declare hotly, attempting to sound mad, but not succeeding (as usual) due to the smile I know is present on my face.

"I would like to talk to _my_ family now. If that isn't a problem with you." He says, but makes it clear it wasn't a request by walking away to the far end of the balcony and resumes a conversation.

Deciding to give them privacy (and not sure what to do in the balcony anyway) I walk away, heading for the kitchen, hoping for a snack (preferably the chocolate cake from yesterday). Due to my preoccupation of chocolate cake, I don't see Steve and Maria until I bump into them. Literally. I face plant into Steve's chest (why does it always have to be Steve?) and he (being the stupid martyr) places his hands on my shoulder, to prevent him (and me) from falling down the stairs.

When he realizes it's me (who else would be that uncoordinated?) who has a head buried into his chest, he breaths out my name in a way that causes me to shiver slightly (and a few minutes later I'll go onto convince myself it's from the open window), and (because of the shiver) I go red, thus keeping my head in his chest to prevent anyone from seeing the red and thus looking like I have a weird obsession with his chest. Which I do not (totally).

When I step back and avert my eyes from all things Steve, Maria saves me from the inevitable embarrassment of my rambling.

"Do you two want me to go? So that you can have your moment." She saves me from the inevitable embarrassment of my rambling by embarrassing me.

I glare at her, and Steve gives her a disappointed look (which is worse because no one wants to be on the receiving end of Steve Roger's disappointment, it's too fatherly) and deciding the glare isn't enough, I say,

"Shut up." In the most annoyed tone, that shuts her up.

"So, what have we got?" I ask her, since she was assigned to pick up information.

She relays the information to me and I internally groan at all the damage being made, while suppressing the urge to blame it all on my brother, get on a flight to France and leave this mess behind.

"Fatalities." Steve asks, being oddly calm about this whole ordeal. Calmer than I expected. I would have thought he would be the first one pointing fingers (at my brother) and arguing (with my brother. Apparently Steve and Tony don't exactly see eye to eye.).

"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something to fast to see." Maria responds, channelling her inner SHIELD as the three of us walk up the stairs I just came down from.

"Maximoffs." Steve guesses correctly and gives me the look that says, ' _It's not your fault'._

All the while, I can't help myself. I met Wanda Maximoff at the HYDRA base. I talked to her, she tried to spell me, and I just let her go. Not even wondering why she's running around unharmed in a HYDRA base. I was such an idiot.

I shake my thoughts away and try to focus on what Steve and Maria are saying and when I realize that they're not saying anything but staring dumbfounded at her tablet, I focus on that, only to gasp when I see Strucker's dead body in front of a bloody peace on a cement wall.

So much for that chocolate cake.

So here we all are, going through boxes of files and papers that probably causing my brother to have a panic attack because I don't have any memory of Tony handling anything that even resembles paper, let along the monstrosity itself.

I train my eyes to the file I'm looking through (a pointless, boring, worthless file) forcing myself not to look at my brother because I know I will laugh at the look on his face and we are in no position to laugh.

"Known associates." Steve brings in a new box, a wide smile breaks out on my face on the distress on Tony's, and he throws the folder at me in retribution.

"Baron Strucker had a lot of friends." Steve continues, and I agree with him, this is the fifth box we're opening on known associates.

"Well these people are all horrible." Bruce says as he shifts through the pictures and I do a double take when I spot a familiar face, but I'm unable to pinpoint it.

I grab the file from him and let out a breathy 'Oh my God' that everyone hears.

"You found something." Thor states, but I ignore him and hand the file to Tony, and I see the immediate changes to his face that indicates he knows the man too.

"From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms." He says as he flips through the pages of the files, only looking up when Steve sends his disappointed (that darn look) and judgemental look Tony's way.

I'm quick to defend.

"It was from a long time ago when Tony was doing the exact same thing dad did and met some people during boring conventions we were required to attend. And I don't remember Stark Industries selling the man anything. So no need for the look Steve. We're clean." I send him a reprimanding look and he has the decency to look ashamed.

I give myself a mental pat in the back for executing the 'Howard Stark' card fluently. I've always known that Tony and my dad were practically the same people (with the minor differences that Tony got from mom). Steve had a hard timing remembering that. So, I've made it my top priority to remind him whenever the two would have arguments on what Tony used to do.

"He was talking about finding something new, a game changer. It was all very Ahab." Tony continues, recollecting information on a memory that I have ceased to remember.

"This." Thor points to a weird looking shape on his neck and I wonder if they have tattoos in Asgard.

"Ah, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it." My brother tells him.

"Those are tattoos, this is a brand." Thor says, pointing at a fiery red on the man's skin, and I wonder why he would brand himself if it turned out to be that painful and ugly.

"Oh ya, it's a word in an African dialect meaning thief in a much less friendly way." Bruce tells us immediately, and I have to appreciate how fast we're able to do this; like a well-oiled machine.

"What dialect?" Steve asks from beside me and I look at Bruce for the answer.

"Waka-nada?" he pronounces unsurely, but the indistinct syllables are enough to get me to gasp and drop the file I was holding as I look at Tony and Steve,

"Wakanda." I say loud and clear and Steve and Tony's eyes widen considerably.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Tony trails off and I know all the possibilities there could be if this guy got out of Wakanda.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it." Steve says and I remember dad proudly boasting how he found the remaining scraps of vibranium.

"He did say that." I tell him, not so sure anymore.

"I don't follow, what comes out of Wakanda?" Bruce asks the three of us, and I know the rest of the team are left in the dark.

"The strongest metal on Earth." My brother and I say in unison, our gazes directed at Steve's shield.

Before Steve even suggests it, I'm walking out of the room, to the aircraft, because if Ulysses Klaue has vibranium, then Ultron cannot get a hold of it.

 **Tony**

"It's a thing with me. Stark is...he's a sickness."

God, what the hell did I make? Forcing aside the guilt, I replace it with a much suitable response; sarcasm. I signal Liz, who stands (flies) right alongside me and she turns around to give Rogers and Thor (who are perched on the tank behind me) a signal as we all make ourselves known.

"Aw, junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart." My voice is teasing, but I mean it.

Everything I've built, every robot that I make, I attempt my very best to put some emotion, some heart into them. They have the freedom to speak as they please and act as they do. I always form an unhealthy attachment to them, and Ultron—well Ultron was a dream for so long, and when I finally got the opportunity to make it real, I did. But it is going to hurt so damn much when I have to destroy it—him.

"If I have to." The robot replies and I spot the Maximoffs behind him, the fast and the mind control.

Liz was very specific _not_ to hurt them. She said and I quote,

" _Oh and we cannot, under any circumstance, critically injure the Maximoffs. They're just kids and they probably have no idea what they're doing. Knock them out maybe, or I don't know speak some sense into them, but we're not hurting them."_

"Nobody has to break anything." Thor says.

 _You've obviously never made an omelette._ And I freeze when Ultron (practically) says the same thing.

"He beat me by one second." I tell, Liz, who has this weird expression when looking at Ultron.

"Ah, yes he's funny Mr. Stark. It's what? Comfortable" The fast one says, I think his name was Pietro. But I honestly don't understand what he's implying.

Then he looks at the missiles and bombs methodically placed below us.

"Like old times?" And I close my eyes, as I comprehend the previous implication.

"That was ages ago. It's done and it's over, and it was never his life." Liz supports me, but there's gentleness to her tone, as if she's not only protecting me but also protecting them, from Ultron.

"You two can still walk away from this." Steve tells them, receiving his cue from Liz. What a couple those two will make.

"Oh we will." The other twin—Wanda retorts with bitterness and confidence, misplaced confidence.

"I know you've suffered." Steve tries again; truthfully, I don't think he's ever going to stop trying, even at the end.

Ultron cuts Steve off with a odd choking sound that can only be perceived as a robot scoff that is ensued by a chuckle (also weird and throaty).

"Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you can live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..." He's cut off by a bitter snicker that erupts out of my sister's mouth as she shakes her head knowingly.

"Something to say?" Ultron inclines his head to the side.

Liz opens her mouth, probably to say 'nothing' but closes it just as fast, lifts her chin up and daringly steps closer to the robot, farther from me.

"Yes actually. I just find it really funny, how you don't like to be compared to my brother." I only half hear the conversation. I'm too preoccupied on getting my repulsers ready in case the son of a bitch decides to try anything on Liz.

"And why is that?" Ultron's voice is threatening and menacing and that should have been enough signals for Liz to back off, but she always liked a nice challenge.

"Because you are Tony Stark!" She yells out the fact we've all been thinking this entire time but were too afraid to say it out loud.

"You walk and talk like him. You say the exact same things he says. You're created in his image. And here, you walk around claiming to hate him where you're the poster copy _of_ him!" She spits out vehemently.

And while I was expecting a fit of fury similar to the previous time he was compared to me, what I received was much worse. Ultron's face turns perfectly calm; he straightens up and nods solemnly to my sister.

"You're right. I am like Tony Stark. But once I'm finished, there will be no Tony Stark. Believe me Elizabeth, I've thought of many ways to kill off your brother. And then I thought, if you want to break the man, you have to crush his heart. But I've come to realize that his heart does not reside in his body, but outside. In you." And I don't know what happened after, but in the speed of light, too fast for me to see, I'm knocked onto my back but immediately get up when I hear the screams of my sister.

She's held on by the throat in a vice like grip by the strong hands that I helped create. She gasps for air and only receives a fraction each time. Her face is quickly becoming pale and before I can even think, I lunge for the robot, now, waiting for the day where I can rip him apart piece by piece. I look at my sister and my heart stops when I find her unconscious, her face turning red. Ultron looks at me and flings her across the railway, letting her fall to her impending death, and before I can dive for her, he yanks me away, and I know that Ultron was right.

He just threw away my heart

 **Steve**

I don't even wait for a signal. As soon as I see her fall, I fall right down with her, hoping that my diving stance will travel much faster than her loose one.

I ignore the hot blinding fear I felt moments before, and instead put all my focus on grabbing Liz. She's saved me so many times. She isn't dying. Not today. Not if I have anything to say about it.

She a fingertip away, but I can't reach her. I can hear a battle through my earpiece, but I don't give a damn. It's only when I feel a gust of air at my back that I thank Thor and his stupid hammer, because the wind pushes me down and I grab onto Liz, holding her unconscious frame against my chest and spinning around so that I'll land on the SHIELD.

I do, but it isn't a smooth landing, but harsher than I expected. I'm forced to lie there for a moment to get used to the blinding pain I feel, but gather enough strength to call out to Tony.

Stark, I got her," I say, not expecting him to respond when he's off battling Ultron.

"I knew you would." His answer comes out of nowhere and somehow ( _not_ Stark's semi-approval) it gives me a gust of hidden strength at the prefect time. Because just as I get up and place Liz on the ground gently, about nine robots surround us, their gazes fixated on the defenceless Stark.

I inch closer to her, keeping tabs on all robots by turning around and peripheral vision. And before they can make their move, I make mine. I swing my shield as hard as I can towards the machine straight in front of me, the force causing my shield to bounce back and hit the robot behind me. Two down seven more to go. Too bad all seven are openly firing at me now. I crouch down on the ground and hold the circle of vibranium up to cover both Liz and me.

"Rogers. Steve!" I hear Tony yell through the headset and before I can answer an affirmative, he continues.

"The two-o-clock flower on Liz's necklace. Press it!" Another crash and I can't hear him anymore. Ultron probably got the upper hand.

I look at Liz's necklace. The locket holding her family photo that never leaves her neck. It had a flower in the middle taking up most of the jewellery apart from the smaller flowers placed as a border and tiny gemstones (which are probably diamonds). Mentally telling myself how stupid this looks, I press the flower on the upper right corner and almost fall back in shock when the action bursts forward a wall of—I don't exactly know what it is. One can presume it acts as a force field, with all the electricity oozing out of the wall that knocks out all the robots that come close.

"I can't just leave her here." I say more to myself than anyone, but Natasha hears.

"Yes you can. That wall is practically impenetrable. It'll be like that for the next hour. Put her someplace safe and get your ass back here." She orders harshly and I have no choice but to do what she asks.

I carry Liz back up the stairs, enjoying the way I don't need to worry about Ultron's attacks because of the blue wall that surrounds us. Putting her behind a pillar, I allow myself to stroke her cheek and get a long look, realizing how much I miss her bright brown eyes. Then I walk away.

...And I guess it was a sign, or a warning to never walk away from something that amazing, because as soon as I did, Wanda Maximoff toyed with my brain.


	7. The Age of Parenting and Friendships

**The Characters and the plot of this story belongs to Marvel Studios.**

* * *

 **The Age of Parenting and Friendships**

Steve

I'm shaken, and I'm scared. But I'm more confused than ever. Natasha's visibly shaking, traumatized at whatever she saw. Bruce the same. Thor is in deep thought, not shaken like the rest, but under some sort of fear that causes him to be unusually quite. Stark and Clint whisper quietly in the front, the only two to avoid Wanda's mind intrusion and I'm left alone to go insane with my thoughts and confusion.

Because I'm not scared of what I saw, or worried, or traumatized. I'm just shaken at the extent of power that possesses these kids and I'm mind numbingly worried for the unconscious woman that lays against my shoulders; quite and unmoving, red marks already starting to appear on her neck.

The vision should have affected me. It should have plagued me with memories of what was—of what could have been. I fumble around in my pocket to pull out the familiar compass that was salvaged when I was rescued. The picture of Peggy is torn and worn out, but her features are distinct and recognisable. And I'm reminded of her words of when I visited her last.

" _Well, Howard always had a thing for show. It didn't change once you were gone." She laughingly told me, allowing me the brief glimpse into their lives after I went down into the ice._

" _Seems like his son inherited the same trait." I replied good naturedly, somehow familiar with Tony's flashy and obvious ways._

" _Oh Anthony. He acts the way he was raised. In the spotlight." She rested her back against the couch, and closed her eyes for five seconds, allowing her tiredness to show, and I gave her the privacy of weakness (Peggy always hated showing weakness) as I looked around her small, but tidy house._

 _The walls were painted a pale blue, and covered by a multitude of photos, many featuring Liz, Tony, Howard and another woman I presumed was Maria Stark. There were two rooms in the house, the one nearest to the living room Peggy's and the farthest a guest room. The kitchen was practically empty and the rest of the house was stylishly furnished with memorable trinkets placed here and there. The whole house screamed 'Peggy'._

" _As I was saying—"She continued her story of how Howard met Maria, when the door flung open and a familiar voice penetrated the room._

" _Aunt Peggy!"_

 _Liz rushed in the house and went straight to the kitchen all the while falling into one of her rambles._

" _Why is your kitchen so tidy? Isn't it supposed to be messy? And why is the refrigerator empty? Never mind. I brought you some groceries and I'll just buy them for you every month." She put in a bunch of vegetables and packages in the refrigerator and the cabinets, but didn't stop talking, not even when she made her way into the next room (laundry room), not sparing a glance at the living room._

" _I'm staying with you for this weekend. And no, it's not because Tony and I got into a fight, but because Tony and Pepper are going through their recently developed, got stronger relationship phase and they keep making googly eyes at each other and not so subtly adding very sexual innuendoes into their everyday sentence. And they. Keep. Having. Sex. And while I'm very happy for both of them, I will not enter the house until the two of them finish sexing up every counter and then wash it all down with bleach." I could faintly see her emptying out the washer from my view, but I think I was too busy blushing and trying not to laugh at the babbling and I'm sure Peggy's face mirrored mine; terrified, bashful and amused._

" _Oh and I spoke to David on the way in. Seems like a pretty good guy. Are you sure you don't want me to set you up with him. We can book a fancy restaurant and I'll probably leave the theatrics to Tony. He'll probably put some weird music and empty out the entire restaurant and have candles every—Steve!" She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, with her eyes as big as saucers and her foot in the air in mid-step as she carried a hamper of clothes in her hands._

" _Honey, I do not want to hear about my godson's sex life, nor do I want you managing mine." Peggy says, but I heard the amusement in her voice._

 _We spent the next hour with chores. Turns out that Peggy's ridiculously clean house was just a cover for all the dishes inside the dishwasher (yet to be washed), the dirty clothes in the hamper, and the lack of food in the fridge. Peggy put on some tunes and sat on the sofa while Liz and I ran around the house washing and drying and cooking._

 _It was fun actually. In fact, I've come to realize that most things are fun when Liz is around. We laughed and talked and had to spend the rest of the day outside after getting ourselves wet when we had a water fight in the kitchen(Liz started it)._

" _Well it's time for me to make a run for it. Tony just called, he and Pepper are done...honeymooning, so I'll just go back home then." She gave her aunt a hug and a kiss on the cheek and grasped my hand quickly on the way out along with a whispered,_

" _Bye Captain." And her dazzling smile._

 _I also made my way to say goodbye, but Peggy stopped me and rushed into her room, coming back with a small circular piece of paper._

" _Do you have that locket? The compass with my picture in it?" I looked at her questioningly, but pulled out the compass nevertheless._

 _She stared at the photo fondly, and then reached out for my other hand placing the circular paper in it._

" _You're allowed to move on Steve. I did. And although I will always love you. I'm glad that I moved on. I need to you to do the same."_

Coming back to reality, I dig in my pocket once more and pull out the picture Peggy gave me.

It's a picture of Liz. She's sitting down in a meadow, wearing a yellow shirt that rivals the sun and her hair is down loose, almost touching the grass due to the way her head is tilting. I have to praise the timing of the photographer as he or she took a picture of her mid-laugh. Her eyes sparkle and her smile is infectious, making everything else in the background to appear dull and bland.

But Peggy gave me this photo. She told me to move on, and then she gave me a photo of Liz. And I have no idea what to do with it.

"Rogers. You alright?" Stark asks from the front and I hastily put away both photos (God forbid he asks me why I have a photo of his aunt and sister in my pocket) before giving him a curt nod.

But no, I'm not okay.

 **Bruce**

By the time we get of off the aircraft, the skies are already blue and I'm covered in a peaceful chaos, where the only noise I hear are the wind rustling wheat, birds chirping, and the pounding in my head along with my loud guilty conscious.

There's a single house in the distance. It's reasonably big—enough to fit a family of five at the most—and it's surrounded by a dusty fence and a barn. But that's it. No sign of civilization outside the house, grass stretching out for miles and miles, never ending. Maybe I should stay here forever, where no one can find me, where I can't hurt anybody.

I stagger back, letting everyone else cross me. Clint walks in front of me, leading the way while holding onto a broken Natasha. I don't know what she saw, and as much as I would like to comfort her, I'm in no position to do so. Thor is followed by Clint, his hands holding his hammer in a rigid grip, and he doesn't really seem to be with us, mentally at least. Steve is next, carrying Liz (who is still unconscious) in his arms and I already know that Tony isn't far behind. True to my judgement, Tony pats me on the back comfortingly before rushing forward to walk alongside his sister, his face giving away his panic in seeing her in such a state.

We reach the front porch of the house, and Tony abruptly stops, taking Liz's hand, therefore stopping the Captain. Everyone turns to look at him and he instructs,

"Leave her here." He tells Steve, motioning him towards the little sofa placed beside the door.

Steve gives him a questioning glance, but doesn't argue as he does what Tony said. We may question the man on all his antics and decisions, but we do not dare argue with him when it comes to his sister.

"She'll panic when she wakes up to unfamiliar setting. She'll be okay out here in nature." Is Tony's curt explanation and the rest of us don't prod, seemingly accepting it.

Then, we walk into the safe house, and I clench my fists in nervousness and anticipation, listing a cluster of best and worst case scenarios.

None of them involved a very pregnant Mrs. Barton and two little children.

So here I sit, my glasses tossed to the side, and the wind soothing me, even though I can never be soothed or relieved from the guilt I harbour, nor can I un-see those frightened faces in Africa.

Liz slumbers a few feet away from me, and my eyes dart back and forth from the view and her, in case she decides to relieve us from our concern by waking up. I'm waiting for a turn to shower. I feel disgusting and filthy and too...green. We let Clint go first, understanding (but not) the need to spend time with his children. Steve went next, and now Stark occupies the bathroom, probably needing an hour to perfect his goatee.

I detect a slight movement from the corner of my eye, and rush towards Liz who starts to stir awake. I panic for a moment, going through the scene in my head and not sure what to say or do when she does open her eyes. So I do the next best thing. I call Steve.

"Uhh, Captain. I think Liz is waking..." I don't even need to complete my sentence.

As soon as he hears her name, he rushes towards the couch, Clint following close behind and Liz's eyes flutter open, and she groans out—in discomfort and annoyance.

"Ow." Is her hoarse one word reply and Steve, bends down to her level as she regains focus and comprehension of what happened.

"That's the second time you've fainted on us. We need to stop making it a habit." Steve says cupping her cheek, and I see the faintest of smiles gracing her face.

"Actually, I think I almost fainted the first time I saw you. Well, I literally would have, if you had swung that bag a little harder and earlier." She says drowsily, and Clint walks back into the house, probably to fetch a glass of water (or maybe he's as uncomfortable as I am).

"Try getting her to sit up." I tell Steve, the doctor in me making an appearance.

Steve moves his hand towards her head, attempting to help her, but she brushes it off.

"I can do it myself." She states stubbornly, and pushes herself upright, probably not realizing that she's clinging on to Steve's hand while doing so.

"How are you—" I begin, but I'm interrupted by a loud commotion at the doorway, where Tony Stark runs out of, his whole attention focused on his sister.

After seeing her alive and awake, he breathes a huge sigh of relief and gains his composure before closing the distance between him and the couch. Before he can fully bend down, Liz launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle and buries her face into his stomach.

"I'm sorry. I know it was stupid to confront a really angry robot who doesn't like being compared to you but the words just tumbled out of my mouth and I had no idea how to stop it and then he grabbed me and you know I can't use my powers if I don't focus, and it was really hard to focus with someone holding a vice like grip on your neck. I mean it was really hard to breathe. And then I blanked. But I'm sorry for scaring you and I will never ever do something as stupid as that ever again. But in my defence you've done crazier things and I barely held a grudge." She says so fast, that I missed half of the apology.

"I really don't know what to say to that." Tony tells her as she releases him, and she gives him a sheepish smile.

We spend the next few minutes explaining all that she missed (leaving out the gory details) and by the end, she has regained her strength and makes her way to walk into the house when her stomach growls.

I still need to take a shower.

 **Tony**

Oh shit! She's getting up to enter the house. Maybe I should tell her about the Barton family, before she is attacked by family gushiness in the form of two kids and an unborn baby. I look at Steve to see him looking at me, and—somehow, by reading whatever was written on my face—nods his head telling me to do just that.

"Right. So Lizzie, while you were napping, we might have figured out that Barton has..."

"Beth!"

"Liz!"

Both mini-Bartons run up to Liz to embrace her and she crouches down to their height to hug them back.

 _Okay then._

"Cooper. Lila. God, it's so good to see you guys." She tells them, holding onto both their hands.

"Mom said you were sick." The boy—Copper—tells her and she focuses her attention on him.

"Ya, I was. But I'm feeling all better now." She gives him the Liz smile and I can already tell that the kid has a crush on her. They all do.

"Wait! I need to show you my toys!" The girl yells out and runs as fast as she can (not very fast) up the stairs to retrieve them.

"Me too!" Cooper runs after her.

I decide to remind her that she has a brother whose been left out in the dark a lot now.

"You have way too many secrets."

"And you don't? I knew about Clint's family when I went away to Savannah—when he took me to Savannah. We talked a lot and I decided that it wasn't my secret to tell. And plus, I really didn't think it would affect you too much." She shrugs unapologetically and I roll my eyes in return.

"Cooper can you...Liz." Laura comes out of the kitchen, hand resting on her belly protectively.

"Hey Laura." The two women hug before Liz stares at her bump.

"Are we still naming her Natasha? Cause I'm pretty sure Nat threatened Clint's privates if you don't. And knowing Nat, we shouldn't take her threats lightly."

"It's actually a boy." Laura tells her and I feel smug for knowing something before Liz did.

Liz gives a whoop, before sympathizing for Natasha.

"Actually I don't know who's more disappointed; Nat or Clint. He had everything planned. The nurseries, toys, clothes, even the name." Laura explains as they move slowly to the living room; slow enough that we can hear their conversation.

"I thought the name was going to be Natasha." Ya me too.

"The full name. Natasha Elizabeth Barton." Great! They were going to name their kid after her too. How close was she with the Bartons?"

The ladies are now too far away for me to hear what they're saying, but Nat joins them, and the three of them sit on the sofa chatting away like long lost friends.

It's then—while I was looking at the three of them laugh and coo over the baby—that I feel a pang of hope. That everything was going to be okay. That we'll move on from this. That we were going to be fine.

Then the phone rang. Liz's phone.

She presses a button on her custom-made bracelet (courtesy of me, she has a lot of custom-made jewellery) and the high tone of a male who definitely hasn't reached puberty yet fills the silence.

"M-m-ms. Stark." He stutters.

Liz sits straighter in her seat. "Hey Ted. What's up?"

"I—need to tell you—um about...how are you?" His voice is panicked and I wonder if something is wrong or if Liz usually hires pathetic incompetent workers.

"I could say that I'm taking a couple of personal days off, and that I'm fine. But we both know what's going on here so I don't know what to tell you. Is everything alright down there? Ms. McCoy knows to give everyone who comes into the hospital from the robot attacks free care. It's going fine, right?" I'm not surprised; of course, Liz will give everyone that was victimized by Ultron free treatment.

"Ms Stark, some—something h-h-has happened." Ted splutters out.

Liz sits up straighter in her seat, fully alert now. "What?"

"When you were gone, an army of robots hijacked the hospital. The _robots_ didn't injure anyone though."

My sister read the hidden meaning in the sentence. "But who did?"

There was this girl. She came in and went straight for Ms. McCoy. And she did something and Ms. McCoy, she—she—."

"She what Ted? What happened to Charlie," her voice is the epitome of calm, but I know she'll break any minute if she doesn't receive good news.

"Ms. McCoy started to scream and panic. She was out of it Ms. Stark. She ran around the room as if something was chasing her, and she ran straight through the wi—window and f—f—fell."

The whole room heard Liz's shaking gasp of breath.

"Is—is she uh...," she's unable to say the words and I close my eyes in frustration and sorrow.

I didn't know Liz's friends that well, probably because the old me would have taken them to bed immediately. But Charlotte was a constant in Liz's life. I never associated with her much, but I can remember the girl during birthday parties, funerals and all the in-betweens. She's Liz's Rhodey.

"She's in a coma Ms. Stark. Not dead." And his already squeaky, non-puberty voice is muffled by static, and with a loud beep, he is disconnected.

She shuts her eyes tightly. "Right, not dead."

At my cue, I walk up to her, ignoring Natasha who has rightfully stood up, and place and hand on her shoulder. And as she looks up at me with her teary eyes, I'm reminded of that little girl who needed a hug when Jarvis died in his sleep.

And as expected, her waterworks start as soon as she's buried in my shoulder, and I know that she'll cry her heart out now, but will keep a lid on it after. So I let her cry.

I count the seconds as she cries, converting them into minutes and tracking them in my head. It's been 420 seconds, seven minutes, and her sobs turn to sniffles and her sniffles turn into silence. My (Clint's) t-shirt is soaked and sticks onto my skin, but it's the last priority on my mind now (even though it is on my mind).

Because my sister is quite. She's encompassed by an eerie calm and an even worse silence, and I immediately pull away and reveal her expressionless face.

"Lizzie?" I call out hesitantly, every head in the room turned to look at us.

She looks at me and I'd rather settle for the expressionless face rather than go for what comes next; a fake smile. The smile that I used to give woman, the smile I used to give the press, the smile that I used to greet the people at my parent's funeral. She smiles a dead smile.

"I'm okay." She says, and the look on her face and everyone else's indicates no—she's not okay.

I spot mini-Laura walk up to Liz, Barbie doll in hand, and I suppress my next sentence, being around kids enough to know that you don't drag them into the darkness with you.

"Liz?" Lila tugs at my sister's hand, and I visibly flinch as I watch a mask slide on her face.

"Ya, sweetie."

"Can you come play?" And without an answer (not she was going to say no) Lila tugs my sister up the stairs and Liz willingly obliges, not giving us one glance.

I groan and bury my head into my hands, and then storm out the door, looking for something to do, something to tinker.

Because I was an idiot for thinking, everything was going to be okay.

It's not.

 **Elizabeth**

My eyes snap awake to a faint crashing sound and I sit up immediately, looking at the unfamiliar setting.

The walls are painted a rich blue, with medals and certificates lined up above a small white desk. Action figures are lined up against the windowsill, the bright toys a stark difference against the dark sky. Lila and Cooper are asleep on either side of my arms, and I stop stirring. I look at the TV, from where I hear the crash and realize that we had all fallen asleep in the middle of a movie.

Cooper and Lila were absolute sweethearts. They're attentive and generous towards each other, so it was easy to play games with them since they weren't fighting about every trivial matter. They remind me of Tony and me when we were younger. After hours of playing, we ended up watching a movie; Robin Hood. If it were any other day, I would have laughed my heart out at the irony, but it physically hurt to even smile, so I silently watched the movie, my mind somewhere else.

It's off to a hospital, where my best friend is probably fighting for her life. And I'm here, stuck in this house, unable to get out. I could treat her; better than any other surgeon out there. But I can't get out of this farmhouse.

I sense movement and spot Nat at the door, arms crossed, with a small smile directed at the small innocent children on the bed.

Her focus returns to me. "You've been MIA for quite some time."

I open my mouth to speak, but find the words clogged in my throat, unable to pass without the stream of tears I didn't realize I was holding. I settle for a small smile, that isn't really me.

If she notices, she doesn't mention it, probably because she's the Queen of fake smiles and laughs.

"Come down for dinner. Clint cooked."

There were endless possibilities of witty remarks that could be inserted after that phrase, but it as if I can't summon up the energy to think of one, so without words, I get up and follow her out of the room, to where everyone else is seated at a small table, Clint's famous lasagne at the center.

Thor sips on a bottle of beer, narrating a tale in his boisterous voice. I don't miss the falter in his voice when he spots me, but I'm thankful that he doesn't stop. Laura smiles warmly at me, and hands me a plate, getting up from her own chair to serve me the meal, but I stop her with a hand to the shoulder, serving myself.

Ever since I was old enough to understand the world around me to some extent, the first thing my mom had taught me was to be alive. I learned to put thought, feeling and emotion into everything I do. I try to live by my mother's words every single day. _You have to live Elizabeth; you need to live wholeheartedly with no regrets. Don't you ever stop shining Sweetheart, for everyone else in the world needs the sun._

I have no idea what everyone was talking about during dinner, I have no idea how the food tasted, I don't know if I was thirsty, and I have no idea if I asked for more. In fact, I don't even think I said a word. I was on autopilot, methodically picking up my food and eating it, despite my inability to chew properly. I ignored the concerned glances and the only time I spoke up was to respond to Tony's goodnight with one of my own.

Laura took the initiative to assign where everyone will be sleeping for the night. Natasha and I occupy the spare room, Tony sleeps on a mattress in the guest room (although he initially protested that he could survive without sleep), Bruce and Thor snore loudly on the couch, allowing me to easily pass by without waking anyone up. The house is too crowded, to stuffy, filled with too many memories and fears. I need to go outside. I need to be somewhere where I can cry. _God, I need to cry._

I wrap my cardigan more tightly around my pyjama clad body, cursing myself for not accounting for the chill that accompanies that night, as I don't have anything to cover my legs that are bare, apart from my thighs where the shorts I've been lent stops.

Quickly and quietly, I make my way towards the hammock tied between two apple trees, resting quite high above the ground. I'd spotted it when I regained conscious today, and my mind wandered to the hanging bed tonight. Maybe I could get some sleep outside among the stars, or maybe I can lie down and cry, either way, it was far away from people and worrying glances and that's all I need right now.

I walk up to the hammock and grab the ends of the net to hoist myself into the lattice. However, instead of landing on the flexible web as expected, I face plant into a hard wall, and I internally grumble at the pain and look up into Steve Roger's surprised blue eyes.

My loud gasp replaces the silence, and I hastily retreat (as far as I can go on a hammock),

Steve sits up. "Liz."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that you'd be...I just wanted to go out and I saw the hammock...I never meant to," tears clog my vision and I quickly brush them away.

Steve grabs my hand and pulls me towards him, so that we're knee to knee."Hey, it's alright. You don't have to apologize for anything."

He tugs me closer, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, and allowing me to place my cheek on his chest. The action causes more tears to well up, and I huff in annoyance at myself for picking the wrong time to release all the tension that's been building up for the past few hours.

"I'm sorry. I'm not usually a mess like this." I whisper.

"I know. And no more apologizing." He softly instructs, and I instinctively shift to better accommodate the kink in my leg.

The action causes the hammock to shake violently which results in Steve tumbling down, taking me with him. We stay like that for a while (out of shock maybe?)—long enough for me to comfortable and push him back down when he tries to get back up. And so we lie there—my head on his chest, his arms around me, and our legs tangled together, listening to the peaceful quietness you can never find in the city.

It's how I find myself talking.

"Before Afghanistan, when my brother was the old Tony, we sat on the cliff above the ocean in our Malibu home on a night like this. It was one of those times where he wasn't drunk, or with some girl, or tinkering in his workshop, and I asked him why he didn't tell Pepper he had feelings for her yet. He looked at me as if I was the most naive girl in the world and told me that he was toxic; that he'd not only ruin the relationship, but he'll also ruin Pepper. At the time, I didn't understand what he meant. This was long before Iron Man and Aliens and I did not understand why he wouldn't just kiss her. I didn't understand how big of a threat we are to the people around us. Not until today. Someone hurt my best friend to get me. I'm toxic to Charlie. I'm toxic to everyone I love because I keep making enemies and they keep trying to hurt me, and eventually some of them will figure out that hurting the ones I love will deliver a bigger win then physically hurting me. I'm toxic."

Steve replies without hesitation.

"No. You are not. You're smart; you built a hospital out of scratch, you have multiple medical degrees along with a business and engineering one. You're brave; you've survived a countless number of attacks on your life. You're strong; there is not one person here that could have endured everything you've gone through and still laugh the way you do. You are many things Elizabeth Stark, and toxic isn't one of them." The air is filled with the silence and my occasional sniffles, before he adds in a much softer tone,

"You're the woman that pulled me out of the ice."

 _Wait, what?_

"I didn't..." I start to say, because I didn't pull him out of the ice. I didn't know it was _him_ until weeks later.

"They pulled out Captain America. You pulled out Steve Rogers."

I have no idea what to say to that, so I remain silent, as I have been all day. I should probably get up, go to my room, before anyone wakes up and sees me gone. Tony would probably freak and wake the entire house, turning it into a search party. Plus, I have to let Steve sleep. He deserves it.

"So do you." I said that out loud.

I groan loudly. "This should be qualified as a disease."

He chuckles and pulls me closer (I didn't think we could be closer than the tangled limbs we were, but I was wrong). "Go to sleep Liz." He whispers into my hair.

I close my eyes and do as he asks because honestly,

When can I deny Steve Rogers anything?


	8. The Age of Siblings and Observations

**The Characters and the plot of this story belongs to Marvel Studios.**

* * *

 **The Age of Siblings and Observations**

 **Steve**

When I wake up, it's to an unusual feeling of peace. Becoming Captain America included many sacrifices—giving away 50 years of my life to ice wasn't the last of them. Peace was a scarcity in my world, so when I opened my eyes to a perfectly blue sky, silence, and a breeze, my immediate thought is that I'm dreaming or that this is heaven.

I become surer of the second theory when I look down to see Liz lying on my chest. Her arms are wrapped around my torso and her breathing comes out in soft winds, brushing across my upper arm. Her legs are bunched together over mine, her knees touching her midriff, and her hair is draped over her shoulder, playing in the wind through the net holes. My arms are wrapped around her waist and I never want to let go. I want to stay here forever, with her. I want this sense of normalcy and peace. And I want it all with her. Because for the first time since I came out of the ice, I have finally had a proper good night's sleep. No nightmares, no waking up. Sleep.

Instead, I carefully extract myself from the sleeping woman and, trying my best not to shake the hammock too much, get off and make my way into the barn house, catching the scent of bacon almost immediately.

I open the door and take in the sight in front of me for a moment, not letting anyone know of my entrance yet.

Clint and Bruce set the table, placing spoons, knives, forks and glasses on top of the red and white chequered cloth. Mrs. Barton and Natasha are in the kitchen, the latter chopping something (of course she's cutting something), while the former stirs it diligently into a steaming pan. And at the far back of the room, Tony Stark and Nick Fury (of all people) stand close together, whispering in hushed tones, a somber look on both faces.

The surprise of finally seeing the director makes me break my bout of silence. "Fury."

Everyone drops what they're doing at my voice. And the looks on their faces make me halt in my tracks.

Laura hides a smile by keeping her stare focused on the pan she's sautéing, while Natasha smirks and winks at me before suggestively raising her eyebrows. Bruce looks shy, but Barton is shameless enough to pat me on the shoulder and murmur, "Good job buddy". Fury doesn't bother to hide his smile and Stark looks so disgusted, I'm afraid he's going to throw up. And I'm still confused as to what I missed in the past few hours that has gotten everyone so emotional.

I grab a jug of water from the nearest table, pour it into a glass and proceed to take a long drink, fuelling the awkwardness, determined not to be the one breaking it this time.

Surprisingly, Stark does.

"We are never to discuss or ever speak of my sister who is currently sleeping in the hammock you just came from."

I choke on my drink and after a few splutters of water, I ignore the snickers and laughs from everyone (what are we, in third grade?) and rush to explain.

"Wait, no, Tony, it wasn't like that. We didn't...nothing happened. She didn't even know I was th—"

Stark interrupts me.

"Ever."

I immediately close my mouth and avoid looking at anyone for a long minute, taking the time to quietly finish my water. When the last drop of liquid is devoid of the glass, I hurriedly make my way to Fury, who is quietly observing everyone (as he usually does) in the back of the room, thankfully sans Tony.

He gives me a nod and I return it, (remembering Liz's words of "Why do you men nod as a greeting. Is it supposed to be cool or something? What's wrong with a hi?") and make my way to stand beside him in a fashion so that I'm not facing him.

"I thought you were supposed to be dead?" I jokingly say, trying to ease up the awkward moment.

"That was before robots started terrorizing the world."

From what I just heard, I seemed like he was blaming Stark, and although I had also blamed Stark initially, I now know his prompt for creating Ultron (doesn't completely justify it though) so I am quick to defend what I presumed was an accusation.

"Look, it wasn't all Tony." I begin

But Fury interrupts me. "I know it wasn't all Tony. Regardless, we still have a massive robot takeover. And it's getting bigger by the second. And Earth's mightiest heroes and hiding under a barn!"

"We are not hiding," I tell him, "Things became rough in Africa. The world and we need some time to cool down. We don't have a choice in the matter."

Fury scoffs. "Captain, as a soldier, you were trained to narrow your pathway to a significant amount of possibilities in the war zone. You're not a soldier anymore; you're not in the army. You have to learn to broaden your perspective."

I can't. It's been my issue since day one. I can't seem to come back mentally from the war. I'm stuck in time, and I don't know how to come back.

I don't tell Fury that though. "SHIELD is gone, but you just can't seem to stop being a director can you?"

It lightens the air around us.

"What can I say, you can take the director out of SHIELD, but you can't take SHIELD out of the director."

I laugh (it's more of a chuckle than a laugh), and we settle ourselves into a comfortable silence for the time being.

"The enhanced, one is fast and the other can control all your minds to make use what she wants to?" Fury inquires and I can tell that Maria has supplied him with everything.

"Ya. Except for Liz. She doesn't get affected by Wanda Maximoff's powers.

Fury scoffs. "Elizabeth Stark's power might be the one thing we on earth won't be able to figure out. There are probably a billion things she can do with her ability, and a billion more she hasn't figured out yet."

"She's learning though. Fast." I think of the tremendous improvement Liz has made in the past few years with her powers. With the help of Thor and Tony, she's learned new tricks and skills, and her firepower has strengthened considerably since the battle of New York.

Fury looks at me with a small smile that indicates nothing but trouble. "Speaking of Elizabeth. You two finally got your act together?"

Please, God, not this again. I don't know how much more I can take. I'm already drowning in confusion as to what I should do with my feelings for Liz, I don't need everyone pouring their own buckets of water (input) on me.

I decide to subtly and maturely deal with the situation.

By walking away.

But when is life ever that simple?

Because in that exact moment, Elizabeth Stark, in all her morning beauty (sexy tousled hair, cute drowsy eyes, toned legs that go for miles) walks into the room yawning, and sets her stare on me and Fury.

Specifically Fury.

"What is it with you people and coming back from the dead?"

She rolls her eyes and turns away, to where Tony flips pancakes on a small stove, and grabs a plate. And with the expertise of two people who can anticipate each other perfectly, I watch with envy (because I have always wanted a brother or sister, or something to share moments like this with) as Tony throws the pancakes high up into the air, straight to where Liz runs around the kitchen catching it. He puts maple syrup on top of the circular dough while she (perfectly in sync with him) sprays on a swirl of whipped cream. Then, in an action I have become familiar with after living with the two of them for a couple of months, she kisses his cheek with a whispered 'Good Morning' and he kisses her head repeating the same.

She seats herself at the small breakfast table, takes a bite of her pancake, and moans. Moans. A sexy deep sound that comes from the back of her throat, that snaps all my patience, and causes me to groan (loudly) and run (sprint) out of the room, despite hearing Liz say, "What's happened to him?"

As Captain of the Avengers, I now ban pancakes until further notice.

 **Clint**

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time." Fury tells us over the breakfast table.

Everyone stares at him with rapid attention with the exception of Liz who gulps her pancakes as if her life depended on it (can't blame her though, she missed lunch and barely ate dinner yesterday), but I know she's listening carefully.

"My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing." Lila runs to Natasha with one of her pictures, all bright and colourful, and then proceeds to present Liz with an almost identical one, and the two women affectionately pinch her cheeks in thanks.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve brings up from his place near the pillar, and I don't miss the way the spot is neither far or near to Liz.

Fury puts away the now washed glass. "Oh, he's easy to track. He's everywhere. The guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though"

My eyes instantly shift to Cooper, who, without a doubt, is rapidly listening to and grabbing all the information he can get. Not wanting to have to explain to him (because Laura will surely tell him to ask me) the workings of rabbits, I signal Laura and she immediately takes them away into the far room (damn that woman for being able to read my mind all the time).

"Is he still going after launch codes?" Stark asks from his usual place beside his sister and I watch as he hungrily eyes the pancakes, knowing for a fact that he didn't eat breakfast, wanting to wait for Liz.

"Yes, he is. But he's not making any headway." Fury tells him

"Wait. Tony hacked the Pentagon's firewall in highschool on a dare." Liz speaks for the first time in minutes, taking a break from her aggressive to feed a forkful of pancakes to Tony, who accepts it readily.

I don't want Cooper to be like Tony, and I don't expect Lila to be Liz, but I sure as hell can hope that the two of them form such a connective bond as the two remaining Starks. A bond so strong that Cooper waits for Lila before eating, and Lila feeds Cooper, knowing that he hasn't eaten. For all their mistakes and flaws (mostly Tony's), they're the perfect example of family.

"Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that." Fury starts, fully knowing well that it would be pointless to reprimand Stark on matters such as that.

"Nexus?" Steve questions and sometimes, I honestly forget that he's been frozen for half a decade.

"It's the world Internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth," Banner explains, and sometimes, I honestly forget that he's actually in the room.

"So what did they say?" I ask, attempting to speed up the conversation. One of many cons of being part of a team; it is terribly difficult to communicate.

Now being an example.

* * *

I drown out most of the conversation, except for the part that involved bodies, Helen Cho, and evolving.

"Do they even notice it?" Laura asks from beside me, her arms wrapped around my torso in her own special way that makes me feel home.

"Who?" I ask her, following her gaze to where Tony, Steve, and Liz strategize, the latter talking to Cooper and Lila, saying her goodbyes.

"Tony and Steve. Do they realize they both look at her like..." she's at a loss for words, so I complete it for her.

"—like she's the reason for them living. Yeah."

"So Steve and Liz are something big." Laura states and I know better than to argue with her when it comes to feelings.

"I don't know about Steve and Liz. But I don't think I'll ever see something as great as Tony and Liz. You look at Tony and you think you see a selfish, narcissist billionaire, and then you see him with Liz and he's just so amazing with her, it makes you question every single thought you had about him. I've never seen two people so attuned to each other before. They know what the other is thinking before they even think it. It's amazing." I end my speech by shaking my head in astonishment.

Laura stares at me, looking astonished herself. "If you're that passionate about them, then I'm sure it must be amazing."

God, I love this woman!

After another long hour of strategizing, commenting, theorizing, a receiving a short pep talk from Fury, we all 'suit up', each with different locations, a different task, and a different goal.

Mine; Go with Steve, find Ultron, come home to my family, never go back again.

 **Liz**

"He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us."

I roll my eyes. "No need to be so negative dear brother. Because you know, technically, Bruce can't be destroyed, so at least he'll be left standing. But I'm not sure whether that's supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing because you know, without Nat he'll be all 'Hulked' up and then that will cause a mass destruction. But I guess it won't matter because if we're all down and Bruce is the only one standing, he can't actually kill anyone. And you know...I'm being more negative than Tony aren't I"

I look at the two of them. Steve looks amused and Tony looks like I just handed him tech from the 30th century and asked him to play with it. He looks so happy.

Seemingly noticing my curious stare, he averts his eyes from me, murmurs under his breath 'gonna set up the suit', and walks away. Since when did he need to 'set up the suit'?

The sound of the door closing is the only sound left, as an uncomfortable silence envelopes the hallway in which Steve and I awkwardly stand in.

He's been avoiding me like the plague ever since this morning, and I can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I practically fell asleep sprawled on him. Maybe he's a man that likes his boundaries. Either way, we're gonna have to talk about it because there is no way I'm going to let him sprint away to the other side of the house every time he sees me.

"Steve we—"

He interrupts me by taking a few steps closer (first time all day!) to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"Be safe Liz."

I feel my brows furrow impulsively and I move closer to him so that my hand slightly brushes his. "Me, be safe? I'm not the one going after Ultron Steve. Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

A small smile form on his lips and I force my gaze to his eyes.

"And here I thought you'd be telling Tony that." He jokes.

"The two of you aren't as different as you think. I mean there is the whole genius, billionaire thing. Not that you're not a genius. Well, you're not. You're smart, but Tony's smarter. And richer. But that doesn't define his basic qualities. What I'm trying to say is that the two of you have pretty much the same qualities. You just express it in different ways."

"It's nice to see you ramble after a long time. Tony seems to think so too." He tells me, and this time, it's me that smiles softy at him, a smile the only response I'm able to give right now.

"Liz, come on! You can kiss Steve later." Tony calls out from outside, the robotic voice indicating that he is already suited up.

Steve coughs and moves back, and I give him a mock salute before making my way towards the door, scanning my ring in the process. And as the flimsy cloth-like metal arranges itself, I turn back to face Steve, parting him with a final warning.

"We're having a talk when you come back."

And I fly away.

* * *

"Ms. Stark, according to my visual readings, the direction we were supposed to be heading to reach Nexus, has passed 7.8 miles ago." Friday says, confirming my doubts. We've passed Oslo already. Where is Tony going?

"Tony? Are you sure, we're going the right way? We've passed Oslo miles ago." I say, connecting to the Iron Man suit's earpiece.

"Just follow me." His answer is curt, before he picks up speed.

I groan, but follow him nevertheless, still confused as to our purpose among mountains and rivers when our initial goal was Nexus.

Tony makes an abrupt turn and I follow him, my confusion reaching a moot point when I spot the familiar red and gold inside a hallow cave carved out into the mountain. When I land in the same cave, Tony is out of his suit and standing there, arms crossed over his chest. It takes me back to the day when I was 14 and snuck out of the house to meet a boy, and when I came back, Tony was waiting in the front porch, his face similar to how it looks right now.

"Tony, what in God's name are we doing here when we should be—"

"I am very disappointed in you." Is his only reply and I must admit it rather hurts to hear him say that after almost 15 years.

"Tony—"

"I have been right beside you ever since you were born. You have been right by my side for as long as I can remember. We went against everyone; mom, dad, Aunt Peggy, and Jarvis for another. You held my when I cried during mom and dad's funeral. And I didn't let go of you when you cried an hour after that. You've been my constant my entire life. I genuinely thought that I was yours."

I remove my own suit. "You were. You still are."

"Then why the hell do you think I'm not going to notice that you're not fine. That your best friend is in a coma and that's the only thing you can think about. Did you think that I was going to ignore the fact that you've barely talked all day? Or did you just assume that I would fall for your fake happiness act like everyone else."

I feel the dam that holds my tears at bay slowly start to crack. I can't afford to lose my calm right now. Not when Ultron's still on the loose, threatening the world.

Tony puts his hand on my shoulder, and I'm forced to blink away the tears and look up. "A lot has happened in the past few years with me being Iron Man, and the Avengers and I get that we both needed to toughen up. But honey, you have to remember that you don't need to be tough with me. That's what you used to say right? You can be yourself with me. Because I'm your knight in shining armour."

" _Tony, Bianca told me to colour my hair blond like hers. Said I wasn't pretty enough. I could have punched her, but she's six and Aunt Peggy told me to respect my elders"_

" _Don't listen to her Lizzie. You always look amazing. And besides, ask her if she's ever been on the cover of three different magazines. Because you have."_

" _I don't want to be the girl on the magazine. They put too much makeup on me. And they try to do my hair like mommy. Mommy's hair doesn't look good on me."_

" _You can always be the girl you want to be with me sis."_

" _Like how you're always going to be my knight in shining armour."_

" _Exactly"_

It set me off. I broke into massive sobs and ugly tears and my face immediately found Tony's chest, the glowing blue no more.

"I can't lose her Tony. God, I've lost so much. I don't think I can afford to lose more." I murmur over and over again.

"Actually I think you can afford pretty much anything. If you can't, then the two of us combined probably can. Don't worry."

I laugh. It's a disgusting, choked, horrible laugh, but a laugh nevertheless. I remove my face from Tony's shirt and vigorously wipe my tears, a genuine smile finally threatening to come out, after a long time.

Because I'm here. I'm alive. Tony's here, and by some miracle, he's alive. Charlie is going to be alright. As soon as I get home, I'm going to make sure she gets top treatment, and then she'll wake up. I'm going to destroy Ultron along with everyone else. And we'll all live happily ever after.

"Yes we will." Tony says laughing, as he's aware I didn't mean to say that out loud.

"Ugh, are you sure that you didn't find something wrong with my brain all those times you tested me before?" I ask as I watch him re-enter his suit.

"Nope," his mechanic voice fills the air, and he shoots through the sky, just as I get into my suit.

"Hey! We all don't have rockets for transportation you know!" I yell into his comm.

And I follow him. Like I always do. Like I always will. For the rest of my life.

 **First of all, for those who take the time off to read my crap, I would like to say thank you. Also, I would like to mention** **Darth Becky 726** **who, with her review and request on more Tony and** **Liz scenes, practically inspired more than half of this chapter. So thank you, Darth Becky 726. Finally, since we all have (or have had to) to face the petrifying nightmare called 'school', we all know that we've been recently called back to the hellhole. Due to that, updates will be slower than usual (maybe every two weeks, maybe more) because I'll be busy juggling school, and meditation classes (so that I don't strangle my teachers and whoever the hell invented physics).**

 **PinkMeadow**


	9. The Age of Wake Ups and Break Ups

**The Characters and the plot of this story belongs to Marvel Studios.**

* * *

 **The Age of Wake Ups and Break Ups**

 **Tony**

"—Could be anywhere." I speak more to myself than to Clarissa, who stands quietly behind me.

Liz and I have been in Nexus for almost half an hour now, attempting different codes and algorithms to find our ally. So far, we've found nothing.

Liz quietly enters her algorithms on the desktop beside me, her focus completely devoted to the screen in front of her. Once I start talking though, she immediately starts of on her own ramble, which is consisted of complains, and apologizes.

"But this is the centre of everything. Every single flow of data passes through here. I mean, this is a great and useful procedure, but not in this case because we're trying to find a pin in a mountain of haystack. I'm trained to find blood clots and disease, not stupid algorithms."

"Just bring a magnet." I tell her, taking occasional peeks at her screen to ensure that she's doing it correctly. She is (she's a Stark, of course she is).

"Tony, now is not the time to speak in metaphors. Well, my haystack metaphor was pretty clear. Your magnet metaphor is not." She tells me.

"Oh, I'm decrypting nuclear codes and you don't want me to." I sing, painfully aware of the young lade behind me (Crissy, I think) posing to take a picture with me (or more literally, my back.)

"Tony, that's genius." Liz says from beside me, her fingers clinking through the keyboard much faster than before.

"Tony." Her voice stops me in my tracks and I look at her screen, to find a familiar set of patterns and codes.

My patterns and codes.

Jarvis.

We speed back to the Avenger Tower immediately, an idea fresh in my brain, and I wonder how I'm going to break the plan to Liz without her freaking out. Turns out that I can put away the thought for now, because as I enter the Tower, I spot Nick Fury and Maria Hill making their way out and Liz signals that she's going to talk to them. Thank God!

When she comes back, her face has considerably died down, and she looks worried and scared. I don't even have to ask her what's going on, because the words immediately tumble out of her mouth.

"Ted just called. Said that Charlie just came out of surgery and that she's going to wake up any minute. And I know that we have to help the others once they find Ultron, but the hospital is only a few minutes away, since it's my hospital, and I really want to make sure she's doing okay. Do you think you and Bruce will be able to handle everything if things go downhill? I swear I'll only be gone for a couple of minutes max. I don't think Charlie will let me stay that long anyway. She's kind of—"

"Go. I'll take care of things on this end." I interrupt her.

She sprints out of the Tower, without saying another word and I really hope that everything goes all right with Charlotte.

Lizzie's departure also gives me enough time to analyze and plan my great idea.

 **Charlotte**

Crap. I got hospitalized.

Shit. It was by Liz's weird mind control rival.

Fuck! Liz is going to be so pissed.

I groan and open my eyes, only to spot Liz, who is pacing back and forth inside my overly large hospital room, biting her nails.

"Bitch. I swear to God if you ruin those nails, I will murder you. Do you have any idea how long it took to shape them?" I croak out in a horrifically hoarse voice.

"Oh my God Charlie you're awake. God, I was so worried. You fell of a building Char, I thought you were going to be dead or in a coma and I honestly didn't need one more person in my life that is going to wake up missing exceptional years in their life. I couldn't visit because, I mean you didn't see the news of course, but we had a bit of a scandal in Africa so we had to go into hiding and it wasn't safe for me to draw all the attention and walk into my hospital and I'm so sorry, for putting you here cause Wanda hurt you to draw me out and it's all my fault and I'm really, really sorry Char."

I've been friends with this idiot long enough to grasp the important concepts in her rambles and to decipher them quickly in order to grasp the next essential concept.

I point to the glass of water that is placed on the table away from my reach (why the hell do they keep water so far away from their patients?). She places it in front of my mouth and I grab the glass from her (I'm not an invalid for her to feed me water) and take a long, refreshing gulp before I speak.

"Elizabeth Stark, do you not think that I knew what I was getting into when I decided not to run away from you the first time you showed me your powers?"

 _ **Third Person Point of View**_

" _Holy Shit Liz!" Charlie screams, her hands rising in front of her in defence._

" _So...ya. Happy Birthday!" Liz exclaims weakly, making feeble jazz hands._

" _Wait, so the crazy, great thing that happened to you when you were born was that?" Charlotte doesn't stop screeching, but after almost 12 years of being together, Liz is used to her friend's overly dramatic ways (not that learning that her best friend can emit elements is in any way dramatic)._

" _Ya. I have electricity, ice, and a little bit of fire and water." Liz says, pointing to the ball of each element that is currently floating around in the air._

" _How?"_

 _With a flick of her wrist, the ice transforms into a small hospital building, a miniature representation of what happened the night Liz was born. She brings in lightning and fire as she recites the story of how she got her powers and all the events and milestones she crossed up until this point._

" _And you waited until we were sixteen to tell me. Bitch, I sleep with you almost every night!" Charlie doesn't stop screaming, and Liz is thankful that no one is home._

" _I had to learn how to control it. I couldn't have showed it to you when we were five. I would have burnt down the school." Liz says calmly, mouth itching to ramble, but brain cutting her mouth off (for the first time), knowing that this isn't the right time for a ramble._

 _Charlie is quiet for a very long time. So long, that Liz has started to recite the number of things that can happen in her head, and order it from worse to best-case scenario._

" _So, you have these...powers under control." Charlie states and Liz nods an affirmative._

" _And you're not going to kill me in the middle of the night."_

" _Not unless I want to. No." Liz feels a start of a smile form on her lips._

" _Okay, we're cool. Now to more important things."_

 _Liz furrows her eyebrows in astonishment and confusion._

" _Should I wear the red or pink lipstick when we go to Zach's house on Friday?"_

 **Back to Charlotte's Point of View**

"Charlie..." Liz starts and I know this sentence will result in an impending ramble on apologies and guilt, so I immediately shut her off.

"Nope. Don't want to hear any apologies. What I do want to hear however, is what's going on out there, since I passed out." Or more accurately attempted suicide without being in the right state of mind. Literally.

"Well, you met Wanda. Pietro, her twin brother, is super fast. Ultron is crazy, and choked me and I passed out because I compared him to Tony. And then we were in a safe farmhouse for a day because Wanda made Bruce hulk out and he destroyed part of Africa, until Nick Fury showed up and turned out to be not dead and we learn that Ultron wants to make a human body, meaning that he will be unbeatable, so the rest of the team is in Asia trying to stop him. Tony and Bruce are back at the Tower so that they'll be able to analyze and stop the cradle, in where Ultron's human form is, from forming the body. And I'm here with you."

I know I'm openly gaping at her. "All that happened in two days?"

She gives me a closed mouth smile and nods her head sheepishly.

"Wow." I close my eyes due to the sudden burst of exhaustion.

"What's that?"My eyes fly open in panic because I know that voice. Liz used that voice when she learned that Matthew from our sixth grade class had a crush on me.

I follow her line of sight, to the red roses placed on the other table near my bedside, with a clearly masculine card and a visible x (kisses). I'm never going to get out of this one.

"Is this the same blonde, green-eyed Adonis that I caught you with when I came to Savannah?"

Actually, maybe there is a way I can get out of this one.

"I'll tell you about him when you tell me about your blonde, blue-eyed Adonis."

I'm about to continue, but another attack of exhaustion takes over me and I yawn loudly.

"Go to sleep Charlie. I have to go help the others." She tells me softly, holding my hand tightly.

I panic, as I always do when she gets involved in stupid, dangerous situations as such.

"We'll talk about this when you come back" I emphasise the 'when'.

"Ya we will." She tells me softly. "Love you Char."

I'm so tired, but I muster up an inaudible "Love you too."

I hear her slowly step out of the hospital room, and close the door. My best friend and my rock. She's been my hero long before I learned about her powers. She strong, brave and extremely selfless.

It's what scares and worries me the most. She's too selfless for her own good. Selfless enough to take the burn for anyone she cares about, and there are many people in the world that are on the receiving end of Elizabeth's affections. She's impulsive and stupid enough to get hurt for any one of those stupid avengers, and I worry that one day, if not today, it will be the case. And as her friend, I have no choice but to lay here on _my_ goddamn hospital bed and fret over the stupid idiot.

 **Natasha**

I tap my fingers on the seat in an aimless beat, waiting for my cue to get down and kick some ass. Clint spotted the truck with the cradle a few minutes ago, but until we get Ultron away, we can't get a clear shot.

Patience was never my forte, so it wouldn't make sense for me to sit down, meaninglessly. So, I decide to do the rational thing and call Liz.

She answers on the first ring. "What happened? Is everything okay? Are you guys in trouble. Are any of you hurt? Is Steve okay. He didn't do something stupid did he? Should I come there? Maybe I should come there. I should come there, right?

Whoa, too much questions for my dumbass brain to catch up.

But I answer them, in order. "Nothing happened. Everything is fine and going as planned. No, we are not in trouble. No one is hurt. Steve is okay. He didn't do anything stupid yet. I'm trying not to read too much into the fact that you specifically asked about Steve. And you should stay at Stark Tower to help Tony when we do deliver the cradle. "

"Okay." She breathes out. And I have to smile at the fact that most people would have considered it abnormal and difficult to keep up with an answer like that. Not Liz.

"So, what did you find at Nexus?"

"We...um—found something." Her answer is hesitant and vague, and I find myself immediately getting suspicious.

"You found what?" I ask her.

"We found something. But...we don't know what it is yet. Tony's scanning through to try to figure out the protocols. Which will probably take a long time. And at this point, I think our focus should be on finding Ultron and that body he's making. Our ally can be pushed to the back of the list. And it's not like he or she is doing any harm. They're actually helping us. Right? " I can practically hear her gulp visibly from here. She's a shit liar.

But before I can call her out on it, I see both Clint nodding at me, indicating my turn and Steve fighting (and losing against) Ultron. Before I leave, I switch the line between Liz and I to the open connection, purposely leaving out the fact that one, everyone can hear her and two, she can't hear anyone or anything but me.

I get on my bike, and rub my sweaty hands over my thigh before I become Agent Romanoff, current Avenger, former SHIELD agent, and assassin.

"We got a widow in four, three...give 'em hell," Clint says, and I can hear him through my comms, and behind me.

"Give me a sec Liz, I need to drop down from the Hellicarrier onto the busy roads of Hong Kong." I quickly press a button on my earpiece to disconnect her from the rest of us, because I can't have Steve distracted, not now at least.

"Wait, do you want me to leave? I can leave. You need to focus on getting the cradle, and not getting killed by Ultron and his evil robot posy," I manoeuvre the bike through the crowded streets, trying to spot commotion. "And you can't focus on staying alive if I'm rambling in your ear about Nexus and Robots. And you guys make me worried when you go out in the field like that. And when I'm worried, I tend to ramble, because talking gets my mind out of the chaos in my head. Actually, talking creates more chaos in my head because after I'm don't talking I need to sort through my head to actually grasp what I said, which is, most of the time, super embarrassing and not in any way relevant to the discussion. So ya. Nat. Are you still there? Are you alive? Did I not hear you die?"

"Nope still here. And I love when you ramble. It's my soothing background music. So keep doing that."

I spot Cap's Shield on the ground and shake my head, "I'm always picking after you boys." And as a form of punishment, take a millisecond to open my conversation (same procedure as last time, everyone can hear Liz, Liz can't hear anyone but me) to the group line. While doing so, I missed half of Liz's ramble.

"Tony never cleans up after dinner. He never did when we were younger, but we had Anna and Jarvis at the time, and although Jarvis was somewhat strict on Tony and tried to teach him manners, Ana doted on him like he was precious china that would break if you breathed on it. So he never had to do the dishes. I did. So Mr Antony Stark grew up not knowing what to do after he finished his plate and as many times I tried to explain to him to put his plate in the goddamn sink, wash it and shove it in the dishwasher, he never listens."

I hear Steve's breath hitch considerably, "Liz?" his voice is incredulous and I can't believe he thinks he's subtle in his feelings for her.

"I hate doing the dishes Nat. It's horrible. But I refused to hire a full-time maid when Tony builds his robots and...oh my god that son of a bitch!" She screams.

I chuckle, "What?"

"He made a robot that sweeps the floor, cleans the windows, and puts away all the items in his lab. But the bastard can't make a robot that does the dishes. I will never, ever wash another dish in that tower ever again. You idiots can do your own, and I'll just reuse Tony's plates every day. Let's see how he likes that." I hear her huff through the beeps and horns.

"Natasha, is Liz here?" Steve asks me, and I smirk at the hopefulness in his voice. I faintly hear Clint whisper 'cheeky bitch' in the background but I'm not sure whether it's actually Clint or the Clint voice in my head that always reprimands me.

"Nope, she's on her way to the tower from the hospital," I tell him.

"Nope. I'm at the tower, and I'll leave you three to your weird broken telephone game. Clint, Laura will skin me alive if you're not back in one piece so come back in one piece or I'll skin you alive. Nat cut the three-way phone crap and focus on not dying or I'll skin you alive. And Steve."

"Yeah." The lovesick fool says, even though he knows that she can't hear him.

"If you decide to magically shrink your brain at the moment and do something drastically martyr-y and stupid I will personally murder you and it will be slow and brutal." She threatens, and despite us, all knowing her teasing stance, I can't help but shiver. Because, damn, she's scary when she threatens.

"So Steve gets special treatment." I can't help but tease her.

I only hear her breathless laugh before a soft "Goodbye."

And she leaves.

And I am kidnapped. By a talking robot, whose plan is world domination.

What the hell is my life?

 **Bruce**

My hands shake as I plug in the wires from the cradle to the monitors. I don't how, but Tony manages to get me involved in every stupid decision he makes, and I always manage to help him because, despite it potentially being universally disastrous and fatal, the ideas are in fact, genius. It would be a great accomplishment if we could actually program Jarvis into Ultron. And even if it were not possible, there is no way I can talk Tony out of trying.

The only person that can is at Stark Hospital a couple of miles from here, and hopefully will return soon enough to either determine whether this is a good idea, or stop her brother from acting on with this plan.

I keep my eyes occasionally trained out the clear glass of the lab, praying for Elizabeth Stark to come and save me. As if on cue, I see her skip (literally skip) into the living room, nose buried into her phone, speed typing, probably texting someone. As soon as I spot her, I drop the wires I'm holding and rush down the stairs, and in a panic, forget all my boundaries on self-control, clam and composure.

"He's putting Jarvis into Ultron!" is the first thing I say to her, taking her by surprise.

She turns her phone off and slips it into her pocket, giving me a questioning glance.

I clarify, "Tony. It's Tony. He wants to put Jarvis into the cradle we just brought. He thinks it will give us the advantage for when we fight Ultron and he thinks it's his way to redemption. I'm helping him. What do I do?"

She stares at me for a very long time, eyes considerably wide and mouth slightly opened whether in shock or she's overwhelmed, I'm not sure. But I watch as my words start to process in her brain, and the wheels in her head start to spin rapidly.

I have always liked watching the Starks think, but more so Liz. Tony Stark is a master of masks and hiding of emotions, so it is hard to pinpoint his thoughts and feelings through his face. Liz however, is a naturally expressive person. Her thoughts, emotions, likes and dislikes are always evident on her face. She's an open book and she's comfortable that way. I very much like the way her face lights up at every discovery she gets when she on the brisk of a successful theory. You can practically see the calculations, and possibilities floating in the air. Seeing that look on her face now gives me hope, because not a lot of people can disagree with Liz and there are very few times where Liz goes wrong with her ideas.

She looks at me, before taking off on a sprint up the stairs to where _her_ (Slightly less big) lab is located. She leaves without giving me an answer; which means that I have to go back up and resume my workings on the Ultron body and keeping having panic attacks along the way.

When I hook the last of the wires onto the cradle, I realize that for the first time ever, I had a conversation with Liz where I did all the talking and Liz was silent.

 **Steve**

"You have to upload that schematic in the next three minutes." Doctor Banner tells Tony as I walk in, unaware of my presence.

"I'm going to say this once," I state firmly, looking at Banner.

Stark tells me off, "how about no-once."

"Shut it down!" I tell them, my anger at them for repeating the same mistake evident.

But the bastard (Stark) is unfazed. Despite creating the very thing that is causing a global destruction, he walks into the next trap and helps create its body. "Nope, not going to happen."

"You don't know what you're doing," I tell them, remembering Wanda's words.

"And you do?" I look in shock at Banner, the man that usually stays away from all the yelling and arguing for both his and our sakes. He continues and I can see the fury in his face, "she's not in your head?" he points to Wanda, and I know it was the wrong move to bring them here, but I didn't know what else to do.

"I know your angry.." Wanda starts before I can stop her, because I know this will not lead to a good confrontation, especially since Bruce is angry.

"Oh, we're way past that." Bruce replies bitterly, "I could choke the life out of you and not turn a shade."

He's angry, but she's only a kid. She got lost and she's making up for it. I immediately defend her.

"Banner after everything that's happened..." I try to convince him. If I get him to our side, it'll be easier to get Tony to stop. It'll be even easier if Liz was here. Where is she?

"It's nothing compared to what's coming." Tony interrupts me as if he knows what's coming.

"You don't know what's in there." Wanda raises her voice.

I support her, "This isn't a game." I hate having this conversation with him repeatedly. I appreciate his laidback way of dealing with life, but this is the time to take things seriously, take the situation as it is.

We go on arguing, but immediately stop when we hear the familiar whooshing sound of Wanda's brother (whose been silent for the most part) running. And in a blink of an eye, he disengages all the wires from the cradle, stopping its life support.

"No, no. Go on. You were saying." He states cockily, and I once again think how well him and Tony would get along if they weren't fighting against each other, if Pietro didn't hate Tony (still don't know why).

Before anyone can say anything, I hear a gunshot and the glass beneath Pietro shatters, causing him to tumble down, and along with the screams of Wanda, I hear him grunt as Clint places his foot on Pietro's leg.

Is Clint on their side too? Ultron took Nat, and he's on Tony's side when he's going to create a new and more powerful Ultron.

"I'm rerouting the upload," Stark says in a hurry, after looking at the screens of his monitor.

"What is going on here? What is she doing here?" I see Liz walk into the room, looking much brighter than before, but eyes wide and angry at seeing Wanda and the hole on her floor. I'll explain everything later, after I stop her brother from making the worst decision of his life.

I throw my shield, making it bounce on all of the monitors. I'm not yet fully updated on modern technology, but I hope that it will cause the machine to power off. Or malfunction at the least.

I don't anticipate the blow I receive in my stomach when Stark fires his repulsers at me, and I'm sent flying into the air, crashing on the ground.

I see Liz's look of panic, Bruce holding Wanda in a vice-like grip, and I get up and run towards Stark (who now has his armour against his chest) as I hear Wanda outwit Bruce. Before I can reach Stark and before Wanda can strike Bruce, there is a loud scream.

"Enough!" I feel a wave of...shock sending me flying off my feet again (this one much more painful and stronger) and look at Liz, her eyes glowing blue and red, angrier than I've ever seen her.

Her arms are raised out defensively, and everyone stays put, not wanting a repeat of what happened previously. Well, everyone except for Tony, Bruce and Clint, who apparently didn't feel the electric blast. Who were protected from the blast by Liz.

In the corner of my eye, I see a flash of red, coat Wanda's hand and I mentally berate her, _don't go against Liz on a good day. Don't even think about going against her on a bad day._

Liz sees the action and focuses her fiery glare (literally. There are blue and crimson streaks on her irises) onto Wanda. "Make one move Maximoff, and you'll just give me an excuse to fry your brain like you did to all those innocent people. Only mine will be literal."

I correct my previous berate, _don't go against Liz on a good day. Don't go against her on a bad day. Don't even think about catching her eye if you've hurt a person she cares about._

She takes a deep breath, looks around the room and turns to her brother, presumably to perform a repeat of the performance we saw when Liz learned that Tony had actually created Ultron.

What I didn't expect was for her to turn to her brother calmly, and say, "Tony, plug everything in and continue the update, make sure most of the schematics are placed in its nervous system."

I make a step forward to try and reason with her, but in my state of shock don't realize that I'm actually moving towards Tony before Liz steps between us, hands put up in defence to protect her brother. I never, in a hundred years would have even imagined her on the opposite end of me, looking like she's in battle and I'm her enemy, and God, it hurts harder than the fact that I missed fifty years of my life.

"Liz—"I try and reason with her, but she interrupts me and I see a faint trace of tears in her eyes and it hurts more to know that I put it there (or had a part in it anyway.)

"I really hate it when the two of you fight you know that?" She tries to smile, but it comes off sad and broken and I want to punch myself for not thinking about Liz every time Tony and I verbally or physically attack each other.

Liz speaks once again, all sadness gone from her tone and instead replaced by anger, and firmness, "But you need to know, and not just Steve, everyone in this room needs to know that we're going to have a problem if you all think that you can just strut into my home and try to attack my brother without going through me. Any of you try and hurt Tony, and I will burn you inside out. Are we clear?" She yells at us like a schoolteacher. A terrifying, scary, do-not-ever- mess-with-her schoolteacher.

I see Clint nodding his head rapidly and she stares me down before a put my shied down and back away from Tony. I hear a familiar whiz and I almost put my hands together and go on my knees to pray that Pietro doesn't do anything stupid.

Instead, he whizzes up to Liz and smiles at her saying, "You know, I would do anything to be able to scare four grown men like that." and to emphasize his point he adds, "Anything."

Liz seems shocked for second, but her cold, hard facade drops at the words and I see the familiar bright and sunny Liz reappear as she smiles sheepishly at Pietro and rolls her eyes.

And just when I think that things are going to be okay once more, Thor appears, in all his armour and hammer glory, tilting my world on is axis once more.


	10. Worthiness and Overdue Explanations

**The Age of Worthiness and Overdue Explanations**

 **Clint**

I swear to God that my life was much easier when the only thing I had to worry about was professional hit men and national terrorists. Now, they bring in magic, speed, and all this shit that I'm way too old to deal with, and I feel like a preschooler in Harvard.

Because Thor (who was MIA for a day and a half) is, literally, standing on the cradle that holds Ultron's body, is holding his hammer up and summoning lightening (all this is done extremely dramatically). And although this was a major argument (that Liz shut down simply with a glare) a few minutes ago, not even the great Captain America is attempting to stop Thor. And it's like a stream of never ending lightening that seems to go on forever, but none of us is really paying attention to the excessive amounts of lightening but rather the drama that is happening between Thor and Liz.

"Liz, get on the cradle," Thor yells (Thor's voice is already loud as it is, is yelling really necessary?) and I see Liz jump (and can imagine her squeak) in shock.

She looks around at the rest of us, as if we can confirm that Thor is actually asking her to get on top of a box that holds an unmade body. "What?" she asks Thor confusedly when it's apparent that we weren't going to give her any indication of confirmation.

"Get on the cradle. Now." Thor's voice is louder, scarier and sterner and I have never seen the God of lightening look more like a...God ever before right now.

Liz puts her hand in the air and slowly walks towards the cradle that seriously should be a danger zone (with all that lightening), and she wouldn't be Liz if she didn't complete the action with a well-delivered ramble.

"I would, as a normal human being, and as a solid feminist, argue against me taking direct orders from you without a valid reason, but your kind of scaring me right now because the last time I saw you, you were telling stories on your glory days and now you just pop back up and start summoning lightning whilst standing on a 85 percent made body and getting all growly which just terrifies me" she climbs on the cradle and just stands there, as Thor continues to summon lightening, "cause you look scary and tough with your muscles, armour, hammer, lightening, loud voice and all, but your that type of person that looks like they could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll on the inside. You're like a big, brawny teddy bear Thor! You can't just turn all 'grrrr'. It defies the laws of my sanity!" she complains in a way so Elizabeth Stark (sounds like a six year old, but uses words like valid, feminist, defies, sanity) that makes me want to smile in spite of all the craziness (that I'm too old for) going on.

Finally, Thor finishes collecting lightening (like seriously bro, your totally disrupting the dramatic epicness of the scene if you take too long waiting for lightening to collect in your hammer) and then does something so shocking, I automatically look at Tony's face of horror, the battle over whether he should rescue his sister from the madman evident in his face.

Because Thor takes his goddamn hammer (The hammer that the Hulk couldn't carry. The hammer than sent Male Maximoff flying. The hammer that no one but Thor can carry. Ya, that hammer) and fucking hands it to Liz (as if it were a book or something) as if he expects her to take the death trap and break her arm.

"Take it." is his two word reply (man, he's full of words today).

I can't see Liz's face, but I can almost imagine her look of incredulity when she says, "Thor, have you gone nuts. I can't carry this thing. I'll just end up breaking my arm and then falling face flat on _this_ thing!" she points to the cradle.

"Liz..." Thor starts to say, his patience seeming paper thin today.

But you can only order Elizabeth Stark around so much before she starts to get feisty. She's a Stark, and so far, I have heard that she's the best one at following instructions, but Starks suck at following instructions, no one expects her to be too different.

"No way Thor. I don't care how scary you look at the moment, because no amount of growliness is going to get me to break my arm. So you can just suck it up and get out, or you can get off the cradle, sit down, and explain why you've suddenly gone batshit crazy."

I agree with her. The bastard disappeared this morning, and then he just struts into the room and starts lighting everything up. I agree with her more when Thor (batshit, psychotic Thor) takes a few steps away from Liz, enough so that I see her shoulders sigh in relief, and then fling his hammer at her.

It's that action that causes everyone to snap. In a flash, Tony has his entire armour on, Captain's shield is flying all over the place and my arrow is flying in the air to its specified target. Talk about chaotic.

But my arrow misses its target. Tony is sent crashing to the ground. The Captain fails to catch his returning Shield. All of us in shock.

 _Because Elizabeth fucking Stark is holding, Thor's fucking Hammer!_

I know that I must look like some weird constipated goldfish, but I don't care because Liz is holding the impossible to hold hammer.

The person in question (Liz) is probably more shocked than all of us combined because she starts to scream. And when I mean scream, I mean a weird hyperventilating sound that makes her sound like she's on the verge of a panic attack. Come to think of it, she probably is.

"Transfer your power into the hammer and hit the cradle!" Thor looks completely unfazed by everyone's shock and has chosen to keep his scary, hard-ass look which would be great if only we weren't all that freaked out by the events playing out right now.

Somehow, through all the shock that she's probably experiencing, Liz finds some kind of deep, messed up strength to do as Thor says and I watch as the hammer becomes engulfed with swirls of fire, water, ice, and electricity before she points the hammer on the cradle.

Seconds later, the cradle blows up, sending Liz crashing through the hole I made (with a bullet to catch Pietro) and Thor flying the other way, trashing Stark's ceiling as he goes. Liz immediately creates a wave of water to break her fall, and lands herself beside me, her mouth open at the...thing that jumps out of the cradle.

It's definitely not human. It has the same attributes of a human, but looks like it's made of something other than flesh; as if its flesh was painted red and pieced together, filling in the remaining gaps with gold metal.

It (whatever it is) looks at all of us the same way we're all looking at him, and I place my hand on the trigger of my gun (on my non-bow hand), not wanting to risk anything. It looks around, repeatedly, before fixating it's gaze on Thor and launching itself at him. Thor, in a smooth, slick move, grabs it and throws it through the lab, causing it to crash through the glass and stop (gracefully, may I add) at the window that overlooks the city.

It's enough time for the rest of us to grab our weapons and run after the attacker, only to be stopped by Thor, who makes no move to confront the thing he brought to life, but stands there silently as the thing looks out the window for a very long time.

It finally turns around to face us, but Thor _still_ stands rooted to his place, and I have the urge to arrow him first before anyone else. And so, obviously, Liz is the one to take first initiative and slowly walks up to Ultron 2.0 who has somehow magically sprouted clothes on himself which doesn't really surprise me at this point. Nothing really can.

"I'm sorry. That was odd." He tells all of us, then turns to where Thor and Liz are standing side by side and gives them a grateful nod accompanied by a "Thank You."

Then the son of a bitch sprouts a golden cape for some unknown reason (maybe to freak us all out even more)

"Thor," Steve talks for the first time since he was put in his place by Liz, "you helped create this?"

"I had a vision. A whirlpool that in all hope of life and at its centre is that." Thor points to the yellow gem placed on Ultron 2.0's forehead.

"What the gem?" Banner asks

"It's the Mind Stone. One of the Six Infinity Stones. The greatest powers in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities. It was created when the universe was formed and has made contact to our earth through Loki's sceptre and the Tesseract, thus it's inevitable power to kill us all."

"Then why would you bring...?" Steve incredulously asks, because why the hell would he activate the stone and bring the holder to life when it can kill us all.

"Beacuse Stark was right." Thor impatiently interrupts.

Banner comically looks at us, "Oh it's definitely the end times."

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron," Thor continues in his eerily calm tone.

"Not alone." Ultron 2.0 says much louder and clearer and I rack my brains, because this voice is so familiar.

"Why does your vision sound like Jarvis?" Steve asks and I remember the voice that has literally been guiding me around this castle since Day 1, the voice that Ultron killed.

"We refigured Jarvis' matrix. To create something new." Tony steps away from Ultron 2.0 in unease and fascination.

"You think I'm a child of Ultron. I'm not Ultron, I am not Jarvis. I am...I am..." Seems like the dude doesn't know who he is, relatable.

"Vision." Liz speaks after a very long time, and I get a good look of her face and I realize that there is nothing we can do about Ultron 2.0 now that Liz has continued to be Liz.

Because Liz, being Liz, has probably already accepted Ultron as a member, as a being, and is possibly thinking on how to customize his room in the Stark Tower by now.

"What I mean is that you're Thor's Vision. So, we'll just call you Vision. That's if you don't have another name. I mean you shouldn't have another name because you were born today, but you do have the nervous system of Jarvis, and not Jarvis the AI, but Jarvis, Jarvis, my friend slash butler slash guardian slash almost everything but a parent, though he was that too. So, is Vision okay...or should I call you something else. Do you want to choose a name? Because there are a ton of websites on the internet where you can choose a baby name. Even though your not a baby, at all. Clearly."

Vision doesn't look fazed by Liz's ramble, in fact, he looks almost normal, as if he's heard it before. If he has Jarvis' operational matrix, then maybe he has.

"Vision is fine... ." Because somehow, in a very creepy way, he knows her name!

"I looked in your head. And saw annihilation." The Maximoff girl speaks up, as if her looking into people's head was somehow helpful.

"Look again." Vision tries to be convincing.

I decide to take my cue, because nope, no more head prodding.

"Her seal of approval means jack to me." I say.

"Their powers, the horrors in our head, they all come from the mind stone. And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side..." Thor's tone seems desperate, but Steve is having none of it.

"Is it? Are you." He looks at Vision, who now seems very uncomfortable after realizing that he is now going to be the center of an interrogation by six people.

We all turn to Elizabeth Stark who audibly sighs before placing herself in front of Vision.  
"Okay, that's enough questions. First of all, didn't you just hear me name him? He is a being, with a life inside of him and he has a name, Vision. Use it. We don't have time to create an entire trial on this. We need to be in Sokovia, where Ultron and Nat currently are, and finish this," she turns to face Vision, "We will go against Ultron with or without you, but give us, give me a simple straight answer. What are you fighting for?" she has her no nonsense look on, and Ultron probably realizes not to mess with her, because he answers immediately.

"I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't. He will end it all. He's just waiting for you. Like said, in Sokovia. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster; I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you want and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go."

Can someone shoot me with an arrow right now please? I cannot handle all this stress that Thor's hammer is giving me. Because now, Vision picks up the hammer and hands it to Thor before walking away. We all stare at the surprised God of Thunder (and I wonder when all of this is going to catch up to Liz before she breaks and laughs her ass off for a good ten minutes.)

Thor uncomfortably stands in the middle of gawking eyes before he says, "Right," and follows Vision to wherever those bastards are going.

I hear a loud snicker and look at Liz who finally looses it and buries her face onto Steve's back, but her muffled laughter echoes through the room and I'm 1) shocked just like the others because "hello, two people just carried Thor's 'mighty-no-one-can-carry-it-because-your-all-not worthy' hammer in less than 10 minutes" and 2) Confused because, "wasn't Liz just threatening Steve on the importance of not attacking Tony?"

God, I'm too old for this shit.

 **Thor**

The plane ride to Sokovia is unusually quite (usually, we're all talking at once, cracking jokes, shouting out insults, but I guess the past few days have taken a toll on our friendship.) apart from mostly quite conversation between Vision and Liz. I can pick up some words such as 'heart, lung, DNA, and cells' so I'm ought to assume that the two of them are in deep discussion on biology.

Vision seems more at ease with Elizabeth more than anyone else and I really don't find the heart to blame him, because Liz was always the warmer one in the group, and I have always felt more comfortable with her compared to anyone else even though the past few months have brought me much closer to the other members of this team.

I look around the plane and see everyone's attention also focused on the two and eventually they realize it too because they stop their conversing abruptly and the plane is now filled with a discomfited silence.

After a few minutes of that, Liz finally focuses her attention on me and, giving me a cheeky grin, asks me," So, do Vision and I have to battle it out for Asgard's throne?"

I let out a breathy air of laughter. I knew that we would have to have this symposium soon, I just didn't expect it so overdue.

"I do not wish to battle anyone." Vision looks panicked, and he should be at the prospect of battling Liz. I certainly would.

"I was just joking Vision. I don't want to battle you either."Liz offers him comfort, which relaxes him, and he resumes to staring at the ceiling.

"But really Thor. What's going on?" Tony asks me, and I get ready to face the music.

Since this is all about her, I focus my attention on Liz, who has fear creasing her eyes.

"Do you recall when you came to London during the Convergence? When your powers were disobeying you?" I question her of a time that she'll probably never forget.

She nods her head confusedly, not able to put all the pieces together yet. I can't either. I don't even have half of the pieces.

"I thought we were done with secrets." Tony looks at is sister sternly, but any man can see the sadness in his stance.

"It wasn't my fault. Thor promised me not to tell a single soul until he figured it out. I really did want to tell you, but then you would have done something stupid in your panic." She defends herself.

The Captain cuts in with a reasonable request, "Why don't you start off by telling everyone what happened."

 **And the Flashback Begins°*°*°*°*°*°*°°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°°*°*°*°*°*°*°°*°*°*°*°**°*°***

 **During Thor; The Dark World**

 **Jane**

"Jane, we need to leave. Now." Thor tells me, referring to the lack of time we have before the Convergence takes up its full peak. He grabs his hammer and we all stand up, ready to put our plan to motion.

Never in my life did I ever expect to be discussing possible ways to stop an evil space elf from returning the universe to its bleak, dark form with my boyfriend who is the God of Thunder in my living room. But I guess there are some things that you can't ever foresee, and you just have to go along with the flow.

Like how someone knocks on the door coincidentally right when we're about to leave the house, which is definitely weird because we never really have visitors anymore.

Erik (who has now put on pants) makes his way to open the door, but not before peeking through the peephole, and when he does, he looks at the rest of us in shock and exhaustion but fumbles with the lock in haste to open the door.

I'm not surprised to see Liz, she always used to visit us long before her life got complicated with the Avengers and her brother constantly getting in trouble. What really surprises me is the fact that the usually coordinated woman is now stumbling into the room as if she were drunk. Her face is completely panicked and she rushes to me immediately spewing out a bunch of words that I completely miss.

"Jane! Have you by any chance talked to...Thor!" Her face immediately sighs with relief when she spots her teammate/friend and she immediately wraps her arms around his middle in a hug that Thor incorporates.

I would be insecure about Thor and Liz's close friendship if I knew that Thor knew how to cheat and if Liz didn't have the hots for another blue-eyed blonde. But Thor doesn't even understand the concept of cheating with another woman and Liz has some weird relationship with Steve Rogers that I don't even want to think about in risks of getting a migraine.

"I'm so glad you're here. You're the reason why I risked everything to come to London because I had to find Jane to see if she knew anything about you, because I automatically assumed that if you were to contact anybody you would contact her. And I was right, because your here, and I'm panicking cause I seriously need your help because something is wrong with me. And by me I mean my powers."

Thor looks at me confusedly, but I shrug my shoulders because I have no idea what she's talking about so he begins to ask her, "Liz, what's—"

He is interrupted when several streaks of lightening flies out of Liz's fingertips, merging into one before exploding into a ball of crimson fire that slowly transforms into a blue wave that crashes onto the ground and shatters in ice pieces. Liz holds her hands to her chest in fear, notifying us that the freakishly scary show that was just displayed and the water that is bursting through our taps and pipes are not her intentional doing.

"I don't know how to stop it. I cannot control it." She hysterically cries and I place my hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

It's then that she notices my outfit and she looks around before asking me, "What's going on?"

It doesn't take long for her to fully grasp everything, as she has already dealt with aliens and powerful forces before, and so I finish explaining everything in half the time it took for me to educate Darcy and the rest.

"I may be wrong. But the acting out of your powers may have something to do with the Convergence. We already know that your powers are not from this earth, and it cannot be a coincidence that your powers start to go awry when the worlds start to align." Thor reasons.

"Whatever it is, it's making my powers go ballistics, especially water. I practically blew up all the pipes in the tower and the hospital. Thank God, Tony was away. Or I would have been dead. It's similar to the way my fire started to go a bit crazy after New York. It got much stronger and much more deadly than before. I could never create fire explosions before New York, now I can." She shares with Thor, frustration evident in her tone. There's not much that she can't figure out, and Starks aren't known for being patient.

"Well, I'm so sorry for everything that is going on, but didn't Thor just say we needed to go before the elf guy blows up the universe." Darcy interrupts us, waving Selvig's neutralizers in the air.

And we all make a mad dash to the door.

It would have been great if someone could have just foreseen this, I could have has some time to prepare.

 **Liz**

How is it possible that I always end up in situations as such? I came to London to get rid of my persistent power malfunction, and instead, I'm battling a bunch of Dark Elves that are way out of their league (since I'm kicking their asses way too easily even with the occasion burst of water that doesn't seem to stop) but don't know when to give up.

It's only when I make a smooth back flip to avoid an Elf that's charging at me that I see it. I don't know what I see _exactly,_ but it's basically a bunch of circles (which I assume are portals) that showcase all the different galaxies, all the different planets, making this way too real than it was minute ago, and I wonder where the Avengers are during times like these.

Because I know we've all gone our separate ways, and I certainly don't expect us to become inseparable, but I did think that if there were a problem, anywhere, the heroes would eventually show up. But at the end, it's just me fighting these stupid, relentless dummies while Steve Rogers is sun tanning in Washington.

The Dark Elves suddenly stop fighting and stare in awe at something behind me, and usually, I'm not one to let my guard down during a fight, but my opponents are genuine idiots who probably don't know the basis of distraction so I allow myself to follow their line of slight and also have my jaw drop at the red swirling tornado that encompasses the entire collage grounds.

And I know I should be afraid, I probably should be repulsed by it, as I was when Loki opened a hole in the sky. But I'm not. Instead, I feel...compelled to it. Similar to the way I was compelled to Loki's sceptre last year.

In addition to the swirling red liquid, I also see Male-something, the head of the Dark Elves and Thor fighting it out in the middle, and I should probably help him. And Jane and Selvig aren't making these stupid mini-elves disappear and so I have to try on my own.

Since my waterpowers are deciding to go extremely whako today, let's try a trick. After the Chitauri war, I went to the beach with my family (Tony, Pepper, Aunt Peggy, Rhodey, Bruce, and Sharon) and after Pepper pointing out while I was playing in the water that my hands were glowing red, realized that my fire powers got much stronger when I created a huge force field of fire that caused the beach water to turn scalding hot and I was never more thankful for Tony and his money ways because he had rented out the beach just for us and no one else got hurt. Basically, I learned how to create massive firebombs that can knock anyone out at a 5-20 feet radius and if I can do it with fire and electricity, why can't I do it with water?

So, waiting for the exact moment when I receive another wave of water, I focus my energy and send it crashing in massive waves around me, mixing it with electricity (my specialty) that effectively knocks out all the stupid elves.

But the fight isn't over, it never is. I run towards the red tornado, to find Thor, Jane, Selvig, Darcy, the random guy that hung out with them, No Malekith, and no weird spaceship.

"What happened?" I ask them, "Did you do it?"

Thor looks at me briefly, but fixes his gaze on the red tornado thingy and (looking like those cliché heroes in those movies that stare off to the distance while sadly speaking) says, "The Aether must have jumped out of Malekith when I stabbed him. I do not know how to contain it. Its energy is too strong."

Boy I bet it's strong; I feel the power of the Aether from here, as if it were coursing through _my_ veins or something.

"Does it have a mind of its own? Like, can it move around on its own accord or something?" I ask him, my gaze never leaving the red liquid that seems to move closer to me.

A small wave reaches me, close enough for me to touch, but far enough for me to reach out to it. And the pull is so strong I have to dig my nails in my fist to contain it.

"Don't touch it Liz." Thor warns me, but I have already made up my mind.

"I know, I know. I shouldn't touch it. But I have this really strong feeling, and I had the same feeling during New York with the sceptre and I can't shake it and my gut says to touch it. And I know that in every horror movie, when someone says not to touch it and the person ends up touching it anyway, they end up with a spirit possessing them, and I probably should listen to you but my instinct has never ever betrayed me to this day, and I have always listened to it, so I'm really not going to stop now. I can't. Because if I do, then ten, twenty years from now I'm going to wonder what the hell could have happened if I just touched it. This is probably a very stupid move, but you know...you only live once."

And I touch it.

And I feel as if I died and came back from heaven. Literally. It's as if I exploded like a water balloon because all that red, is washed away by blue. And I don't know where I get all that water from, I never knew. The blue liquid streaks itself through the red, like embroidery, until there is no more red left.

I don't see what happens next, I don't know how I get out of the now blue tornado, I don't know if the tornado of water subdues once I faint.

But, I faint.

 **Back to Present**

 **Still Liz's Point of View**

"And that's what happened. I fainted, woke up, had dinner, and went to bed. I had to come back to you, Tony, the next day, and Thor told me to keep the whole water, Aether incident a secret until he could figure it out, I didn't want to worry you and have you go nuts, so I didn't tell you. And that's it." I tell everyone, but I'm focused on Tony, because his opinion matters most to me.

"That's not it. What does it mean? Did you figure out?" Tony asks Thor expectantly.

Thor already told me, before he left that he has no idea, what my powers are. Truthfully, it isn't his obligation or job to figure out my issues when we have a more important, global crisis going on.

This is why I tell Tony on behalf of Thor, and me "I have no idea. Don't ask Thor because he has no idea either."

I'm about to tell Tony that we may never know what my powers are, and that he may have to deal with that unknown for the rest of his life, when Clint interrupts me.

"Hate to break the learning circle, but we're here."

Let the Battle begin.


	11. Age of Flying Cities and Erupting Boxes

**The Characters and the plot of this story belong to Marvel Studios.**

* * *

 **Age of Flying Cities and Erupting Boxes**

 **Pietro**

The fancy plane drops us at a reasonably secluded area along the border of Sokovia, and although it'll take me a couple of seconds to get there, it will take Wanda, Robin Hood, Captain America, and the big green guy (who is now a little, not green guy) a couple of minutes to reach.

I'm about to make a sprint for it, to get to the heart of my city when a hand that is placed on my forearm stops me. I look at the brightly painted (blue) nails, before sending a questioning glance at Ms Stark.

She leans to whisper in my ear, "The Captain usually says some martyr-ry monologue right about here. And if you run, he gives you the hurt puppy look before repeating his monologue to just you, and if you're the focus of his attention, you can't laugh during the really funny and cheesy parts because he won't look away. So stay here for now. For your sake." She winks before she turns to face the Captain who, true to Ms. Stark's word, starts his speech.

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for, but the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. Thor, Vision, you find out what Ultron's been building. Bruce, you find Romanoff. The rest of us will clear the field. Keep the fight between us." He looks around at all of us, and they all nod.

I bob my head rapidly and catch Ms. Stark's eye, noting that she bites her lip to prevent herself from smiling. So far, all the times I've seen her, apart from that one time when she kicked Captain America's ass verbally, she's always been smiling and bright, despite all the chaos of her life. I admire her for that.

She turns to face me, "I would say race to the city, but you'd probably win, since you have speed and all, so, I will meet you in the city."

And I watch in fascination as she (somehow) summons a great wave of water, that she glides on rapidly, and soon enough she's gone from sight.

"If you continue to stare at her like a goldfish, then she'll probably get there before you." Wanda tells me, breaking me out of my thoughts, and I quickly grab her and run, yelling "Adios," as I speed into my home.

I drop her down in the middle of my city seconds before Ms. Stark descends down, and she stares awkwardly at the two of us, shifting from foot to foot.

"So...Imma just walk around the place screaming for everyone to get out. You sure they won't throw like stones at me, or lock me up because they think I'm crazy?"

Wanda avoids her gaze, so I end up talking to her, "I'll come with you Ms Stark, it'll probably help if we go in pairs, gets the job done must faster, yeah?"

She nods, "ya, and you can whoosh me away suppose anyone tries to throw something at me or take me away. Oh, and you can call me Liz, everyone does."

"Well then Liz, let's go." And without warning, I grab onto her, and run, smirking at her squeal of surprise.

When we come to a stop, I put her down; her eyes are wide, and she's breathing heavily, "Whoa, we never need to do that again Speedy. I'm not a fan of roller coasters." She tells me as we walk into the police department.

"But you ride on a superfast water—river—thing."

When we're inside the police station, Ms Star—Liz yells, "We're under attack, clear the city. Now!" But no one makes a move, simply ignoring her and she looks at me disbelievingly.

I run out, steal a gun from the nearest guard, and run back in, shooting the gun at the ceiling, "Get off your asses." And I walk away, followed by Liz and her impressed smile.

"Good job Pietro. Oh, and my water glider, is the only ride I ever go on. It's not that I'm scared of them, I'm just not very fond of speed. No offence. But, I'm a doctor, and fast is good, but speed is not. And I know they practically mean the same thing, but—" she comes to a stop at a building and I watch as at least 10 gallons of water seeps into the structure and after about half a minute, the entrance doors and blasted open, followed by a wave of water and humans, who are gently put down on the floor.

"Get out of the city. It's under attack!" I yell at them, and I'm pretty sure it was more because of the fact that they were just forced out of their homes by a wave that they immediately do as I say, and follow the crowd of people that are now evacuating the city.

"City Hall." I tell her.

We both run towards City Hall (I obviously get there first) and she looks at the rusted, old building, before giving a little shrug and walking through the creaky doors.

"Any ideas on how to notify the entity of City Hall. Because if that small ass police department wouldn't listen until you brought a machine gun into the equation, then we probably need a tank for this place." She says as she walks around the main hall, surveying the size.

"You know how to hack, right?" I ask her, an idea forming in my head.

She replies immediately, "Well, I'm not Tony Stark good, but ya, I know a little."

I run up the stairs all the way to the top floor, making sure to listen for the splashing of water to confirm that Liz is still following me. When we reach the room on the far end of the floor, two bodyguards block our entry.

"There is a psycho robot about to destroy the entire city. You can stay here, fight me, and risk losing everything, or you can join the city in its evacuation. Your choice. But let me just warn you, that there is no way you will win if you stay here and choose to fight me." And to prove her point, a large spark of electricity lights her hand up, causing both guards to back away and run.

She opens the door and stands in front of a series of computers, that is on top of a series of control buttons.

"Make a public message to city hall," I tell her.

She nods, "Ya, I got that much when we took me to the control room, but if I could just—"She rapidly types something on the monitors before pressing two red buttons on the control panel.

There is a loud static that seems to fill the entire city, before the noise stops, and Liz speaks into the large microphone.

"Okay, Sokovia, this is probably going to top all your crazy days so far. You see, there is a robot running around the place calling himself Ultron. Horrible name, I know. But he is dangerous. He is going to cause a tyranny. He is going to destroy your city and all of you in it. Which is why you need to leave. Do not pack bags. Do not bring your diary. Do not wait for your paycheck. Leave. Get out of the city immediately. Grab your family, friends the ones you love and get out. As fast as you can. Run, take your cars, get on buses, trains and leave the place. Go as far away from Sokovia as possible, please. Thank you." The two red buttons are pressed again, which stops its glowing and I have to marvel at her intelligence.

"How did you manage to talk to the entire city?" I ask her as we both hurry down the steps.

"I hacked their radio system, television, and any sort of electrical device you have in your city that emits sound. It wasn't so hard."

"I thought you said that you weren't as good as your brother."

"I'm not. You should see what he can do."

She rushes down the stairs, when it finally occurs to me, (I don't know why it didn't hit me before) that my sister and I hurt her best friend.

"I'm sorry," I tell her, stopping her mid-step.

She turns around to stare at me, not looking confused, but silently asking me to elaborate.

"About your friend. My sister and have done many things we aren't proud of, and your friend is high on the list." I tell her, and she blinks rapidly to rid of the moisture in her eyes, before lifting her chin up.

"This whole mess you're in, that you two got yourself into, is because of a hatred for my brother." She plainly states, too well aware that her answer is right to question me.

She continues, "And it could have been avoided if you just took a moment and stopped to think. Because the blame that you put Tony under is irrational, nonsensical, and stupid."

I open my mouth to defend myself, but she's right, so I let her continue to talk sense into me because I need to hear this.

"My brother did not come into your house and murder your parents. My brother wasn't aware of everyone that had their hands on his weapon. The man who managed that aspect of the company died a few years ago, but not before, he could sell the weapons to plenty of people. My brother is trying to atone for a mistake that isn't his in the first place." Her voice is loud and stern, and I bow my head in shame.

I hear her sigh loudly before she speaks again, much softly this time, "You didn't know who to blame. You lost your parents, your world was just crumbled down to pieces and you didn't know what to do, you needed to blame someone, so you blamed the only person your six-year-old minds could think of; Stark. And that's okay. You were kids. But to harbour that resent and let it cloud your thinking, that was a mistake on your part. I like you, Pietro, we could be friends and you can do some great things with those powers of yours, but like I said before, we're going to have a problem if your intentions are against my brother. But now, we can't waste time, we need to focus on getting everyone out and getting rid of all these tin men and Ultron. Okay." She smiles at me, it's genuine and reassuring so I smile back.

We run out of City Hall, and Liz opens her comm. link and turns around in her spot while moving backwards onto the streets at the same time, probably to check for leftover citizens in the buildings or on the streets that aren't evacuating. It's what causes her to bump into a certain red and blue donned superhero, who instantly places his hands on her waist to prevent her from falling along with him.

She groans, "I swear that I will stop one day. I just can't seem to not bump into you."

Steve Rogers chuckles "Don't. I like it."

I hear Liz's sharp inhale of breath, before she quickly pulls out of the Captain's embrace to stare at him as if he were a complicated puzzle piece.

She composes herself rather quickly before clearing her throat, "How's the evacuation coming along?"

Rogers sighs tensely, "People are moving. They're trying to move out before...whatever is about to happen, happens."

"They _need_ to move out Steve. They _have_ to move out before Ultron makes his move. None of us will be able to handle that type of blood on our hands. We've had enough blood on our hands. Especially Tony. God, where are they going to go after? We can't very well tell them to leave their homes to venture off to the unknown. Where will they go. How will they survive?" Her voice borders hysterical and I wonder how I ever suspected that Elizabeth Stark (who is crying over the lives of people she's never met) would do damage to the world.

"Hey, Hey," Steve Rogers places his hand on her cheek, cupping her face tenderly in a move that I had often seen my dad do while reassuring my mom, "Everything is going to be okay. We're going to get everyone out and we'll go from there. We can get them a temporary home and pay for rebuilding. I heard a particular rumour that you and your brother happen to be kind of rich."

She chokes out a laugh and buries her face in her hands before dropping her head (still buried in her hands) onto Captain America's chest. "Sorry, usually I'm the optimistic one. I just hate it when people get hurt."

She spots Clint trying to coax people out of their homes, and she gives both of us a farewell (for the moment look) before running towards him.

"Your girlfriend's right." I tell, the Captain looking at Liz as she makes a series of funny hand gestures and faces to coax the little children (who are now laughing) out, "Where will all these people go? They don't have any money to survive out there."

The Captain continues to stare at Liz, who has now six kids hanging off her limbs and four more hanging onto every word she says (reminding me of the relationship between the Avengers and her), he stares at her for so long in silence that I turn to leave, when he speaks,

"They'll die if they don't leave Pietro. Keeping them alive is our main priority." He walks away, but stops in his tracks before adding,

"And Liz isn't my girlfriend." He states softly and with a hint of longing that, I don't decipher because of my state of confusion.

Because, I could have sworn that the two of them acted like a couple that is engaged to be married.

* * *

 _ **Flashback to Before Everyone Got on the Hellicarrier to go to Sokovia**_

 _I whiz through the unfamiliar halls of Stark tower, clearly lost and probably going to be late for the plane to Sokovia. But knowing Wanda, she'll probably cause a ruckus until I get there, which is why I should get there, fast._

 _I stop running for a moment at the sound of voices, and sigh in relief when I spot Elizabeth Stark and Captain America, two people that I actually trust in this group._

" _Besides, there's no point of this whole mission if we can't figure out what Ultron's planning to do before he actually does it. I mean, that's where the heroes in the movies always go wrong, they figure out the plan, but it's way too late to do anything and they end up saving the world by a nick but end up with a lot of casualties. We don't want that." She babbles, expressively._

" _No, we don't." The Captain says, clearly struggling to tell her something._

" _Good." And she turns around and starts to skip out of the room, when the Captain grabs her hand and spins her around gently._

" _Hey, I think…I think we should talk about what happened—earlier." He starts off and for the first time, I actually know what they're talking about._

" _It was nothing Steve. We really don't have to." She says, not meeting his eye._

" _No, no we do. Because when all this is over, what just happened will be too long-ago to bother talking about it, but will cause a dent in our…the team's relationship." He tells her but doesn't give her time to respond._

" _I am sorry for hurting Tony, Liz. But you need to know, it's never ever my intention to hurt him. I just didn't realize I was hurting you whenever we fought." He tells her solemnly._

 _I'm positive that they don't realize it, but the hand that the Captain had previously used to spin her around, had transformed from holding her hand, into lacing their fingers together, and its either normal for the two of them or they pretend to ignore it (since they're in a relationship, I suspect it's the first one) because Liz throws her hands up in the air before ranting._

" _See, this is why I don't want to talk about it. You're forgetting something Steve. I'm a Stark! I don't accept that I'm wrong easily. Tony fought as much as you did and I shouldn't have screamed at you. And I know that you don't intend to hurt anyone. Your Captain freaking America, how can you?" She says the last part with a smile, which immediately turns serious._

" _All joking aside, I'm also sorry. I didn't mean to treat you like an enemy, I just…I'm just so used to protecting him, that I forget that there are two sides to a battle."_

" _So, we're good?" the Captain asks, directing her towards the fancy plane that is perched right behind them, my luck._

" _We're good." She says, as they get into the plane and away from sight._

 _ **End of Flashback**_

* * *

So apparently, Captain America and Fyra are not yet official but rather have their heads so far up their asses that they're not doing anything about the clearly visible mutual attraction that lies between the two of them. However, my job is not to concern myself with the drama that is going on between the Avengers.

I have to help empty my city out, to try to protect the people from a villain I helped to create and gain power so that he can destroy the true heroes I had previously wanted gone.

 **Liz**

"Come on! Come on! This way." I gesture to the fleeing crowd, as they follow my directions and cross the bridge.

I need to get everyone out of here before Ultron does whatever Ultron is supposed to do. I look around the area trying to find my brother's flashy red and gold suit among the devastation, but find it omitted, meaning that Tony has probably gone looking for Ultron.

"Bruce, what's your stat?" I ask, turning to my comm.

His answer is short and curt, which is normal for Bruce. "Found Nat. Don't worry about us."

"Of course I'm not going to worry about you. You have Black-friggin Widow with you; you're not going to get hurt. Oh, and the fact that you turn into a green ranging, indestructible, emphasis in the indestructible part, giant helps too. I was just making sure that you have Nat. We need all hands if we're going to win this one."

"...Yeah," his answer is small and weak, and it automatically makes me suspicious.

Perks of living with Tony Stark, who has more emotions and personalities than 100 people combined in him, is that you learn to read people effortlessly and hastily, but it doesn't take a genius to discover that something is up with Bruce because that was the worst agreement I have ever heard from anyone, let alone someone as strong willed as Bruce Banner.

However, I am not given the time to ponder on Bruce's suspicious behaviour, as I feel something grab onto my leg. It's not a human touch. I would know, because I have many experiences with kids who, despite being in a hospital because they have some kind of disease or swallowed something they shouldn't, always had a tendency to be happy and play with the doctors and nurses which included, but was not limited to the grabbing of hands and feet. So, no, this was not a human touch. This grip on my leg was vice-like and cold. Hard. And metal.

With speed I didn't even know I had, I have the robot lying lifelessly on the ground, its head rolling back down the bridge where it came from.

It's when the commotion and the chaos finally starts. Because Ultron decides to make his move.

Robots, everywhere. Breaking out of roads, rising out of the water, climbing up the bridge and flying into the sky, shooting beams of lasers, trashing cars and buildings. Killing people. Reminding me of Obadiah Stane. And Obadiah Stane makes me angry. Because this is Tony's work. The blood and sweat he shed to make the world a better place. How dare Ultron sashay in and build robots as if he owns them!

It's the anger that prompts me to rise on a fountain of water (I make sure that the fountain has electricity sparking through them for a more lethal effect), higher than the level at which the robots now flood.

"I'm going to say this one time. Get Out Ultron. Or I swear to God I will rip you apart piece by piece."

All the robot respond in sync, their voices creepily altered, "I expected nothing less from you Elizabeth. You're a Stark after all. And Stark's are notorious for their all bark no bite. And besides..."  
He doesn't get to finish his sentence, as the swirl of water that was keeping me up, building with electricity as Ultron and I were speaking shoots up and spreads through the air, effectively dismantling all the robots that were hit. I also didn't think about that fact that I don't have anything keeping me up after that point, which means that I am sent tumbling down to the hard Sokovia ground, which I cut short mere seconds before I shatter my skull, by a snow blanket (a new move I recently learned and have used many times with Tony much to Pepper's despair over the messy house)

"You know, it's like every time I see you, you pull a new trick down your sleeve," Steve says, and I partially hear his voice from where he fights off robots from beside me, but mostly from my comm.

"Maybe it's because you don't see me that often." I counter back, groaning at the particularly hard blow I received from a robot that flies into me. It's not fair, I'm one and their hundreds.

"Ya? We need to fix that then." He throws his shield and slices through the robot to my side, for which I throw him a thankful smile, and throw his words not too far in my mind inside a box marked Steve Rogers that is this close to bursting open.

"Do not distract me during a fight Steve." I chastise him when I almost miss a punch. I never miss a punch. Not since, I was 17.

"How was I distracting you?"

"You were...just...don't look at me like that!" I scream in frustration when he gives me that heated, amused look once again.

He backflips into another tin man "What look?"

But, before he can answer, a terrible rumbling infiltrates the earth, shaking the city, making the inhabitants feel as if we were on bumper cars. Everyone clings onto each other, poles, cars, crumbling buildings, anything they can find.

Because Sokovia, is fucking shaking.

And honestly, I am going to be seriously pissed if they don't let me kill Ultron, because as if somehow shaking a country wasn't enough, his tin goons wrap their hands around my neck, and although the grip isn't as tight as Ultron's it hurts as hell.

But I don't need my powers to fight. I elbow the piece of shit, before flipping it to the ground, burning it and then throwing it back into the water. And before I can stand there and contemplate on my very amazing badassness, the earth shakes once again and I realize that I have nothing to hold onto.

Except for a very warm, muscled familiar hand, that happens to be there when I need it. But, I can't stop to think about that now, so I push my box marked Steve Roger (that is shaking for an eruption) back further into my brain.

Because before I can blink, the ground between me and Steve falls into nothingness. And this time the country doesn't shake, it crumbles, it falls, it breaks, and it rises.

I watch as the country crumbles and falls, creating a huge gap, dropping people and buildings, splitting the earth in two. I listen to the cries of mothers and children as they watch each other fall into oblivion; fall down from a city that is rising in the air, unbound from its necessary shackles. I feel Steve's hand slip away from mine, the deteriorating ground between us getting larger and larger, before his hands slip completely from mine, and I watch in numbness as he moves further away from me, the two of us on either side of the bridge. Me on the one headed for destruction.

And I call out to the person I've always called out to when I was in trouble.

"Tony?"

"Friday," He doesn't talk to me, but he opens his comms so that the two of us can talk and listen to Friday.

"Sokovia is going for a ride"

And I grab everyone that is on my side of the bridge through a large wave that sweeps them onto Steve's side, and, retaliating the gallons of water I dispersed back into my hand (still don't know where it goes) and out again getting myself to the other side just before mine shatters.

"Do you see, the beauty of it? The inevitability. You rise only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me, it means nothing. When the dust settles, the only living thing in this world will be metal." He says, just as I bend one of his metal soldiers under the weight of my electric rope, loving the irony of it.

"I need to get to Tony," I tell Steve, who waves me off, before rushing to the swarm of robots gathering.

I find my red and gold armoured brother quite easily, and stand by him as we watch and listen to Friday explain to us what we already know.

Basically, Ultron is going to throw Sokovia on the earth, and kill everyone. Global Extinction. His plan all along.

"This is ridiculously intelligent! I could have never thought of this." I complain and complement at the same time.

Tony and I fly around the city, saving the ones that need to be saved, making sure that everyone is out of buildings and getting the ones that are not, out.

"I got airborne heading up to the bridge," Friday informs me, and I notify Steve.

"Steve, you've got incoming."

Only to be responded to by a loud grunt and an "Incoming already came in."

"Stark, Liz, you two focus on bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job; tear these things apart. You get hurt. Hurt them back. You get killed...walk it off."

I look at Iron Man, who stares at me and I know him well enough to voice his thought, "I don't know whether I should be happy that Steve has a sense of humour, or worried about the way he uses it."

I don't even listen for an answer. I just fly, run, fight, think, and try not to fall, as I wait for an idea to pop into my brain as a solution for how I'm going to fix a flying city.


	12. The Age of Ideas and Jealousy

**The Age of Ideas and Jealously**

 **Thor**

I whisk myself out of the ground, from where I was buried in a couple of minutes ago. I had discovered Ultron's machine a little too late, and it had powered up before I could turn on the damn device that allows me to communicate with my fellow team members and left me in a pile of rubble. By the time I had managed to regain my strength, the city was already flying in the air and crumbling. And although I don't understand the panic over a flying city (I've been to realms that had worse) I do empathize for the crumbling part, along with the fact that Ultron is going to drop the city back down like a ball and cause extinction. This means that Jane will die. And I don't want Jane to die. As well as Midgard. So I will do everything in my power to save this city and the world. Again.

Starting with the two automobiles filled with people that just fell past me as I speed up to Sokovia. Taking only a brief second to change my course, I practically plunge down, my hammer being only source keeping me balanced.

There are two cars, one of me, and not any time. I rack my brains for a solution as to how I can save all the earthlings in both cars, and not add to my guilty conscience.

"You get red, I'll get green." Is the only sentence Elizabeth Stark (coming out of nowhere) says to me, before plunging down at a faster speed than I to catch up to the green car, which is falling faster than my red.

Focusing on my target, I jump onto the back of the car, and look at the terrified woman's face, unable to give her a comforting smile because, hello, we're falling. Instead, I offer her my hand, ready to grab her in case she delays taking it, but she seems to be an intelligent woman as she grabs onto to my outstretched help immediately and I look at the Captain (or what I can see from his distance) and hoping that he will catch this young maiden, fling her through the air (thankful that Liz is not here to lecture me on the serious health effects that can cause) and sigh in relief when I see that the Captain has grabbed onto her.

My relief is short lived when I realize that I'm still falling, and fumbling to regain control on my hammer, shoot upward, just before I hit the ground, and in time to see a protective wave of water encase the green car, smoothly sending it upward, and I briskly zoom past it, not wanting to waste any time since I feel as if I missed half the battle (not my fault but still).

As soon as I touch surface, I pause, to take a quick breath, seeing as the current area I'm in devoid of robots.

"What, were you napping?" Steve asks me, jokingly, and I give him a no-nonsense glare that he ignores. He's been hanging out with the Starks for too long.

Coincidentally, Elizabeth Stark appears in a wave of water, and only stumbles slightly before righting herself and gives the two of us her customary smile.

"I thought I told you to stick with bringing the city down safely." The Captain reprimands her with a teasing smile, similar to the one he gave me moments ago, yet so different. This smile and tone of voice for that matter is much more flirty, and heated, and I almost groan aloud in mental pain at having to witness this again.

As if that wasn't enough, Liz has to respond back just as flirty, "Ya? And I thought that you already knew it was pointless to give me orders and that I'm a really good multitasker. But I guess there are still many things we need to learn."

"That we do." The Captain smiles at her with the smile he has reserved specifically for Elizabeth Stark and this time, the painful groan cannot stay in and I decide to take my frustration out on these stupid robots.

"It's been three years," I tell Ultron's minions as I deflect their blasts with my hammer.

"Three years of this back and forth flirting." I strike off one of their hands, with a simple wave of my hammer.

"I mean it wasn't so bad in the beginning, you know. It was just some harmless banter," I jump on one tin man and dismantle it while talking to the other before electrocuting it. "And then, when we started to live in the Tower and invade the Hydra bases, well then, it became unbearable." I flip the robot coming at me backward, and strike it against the ground.

"The not at all subtle flirting, the constant touches, the heart eyes." I fling the robot closest to me in the air, throwing a few more off its course. "And please, let's not get started on the sexual tension. It makes everyone in the room want to rush out."

I finally make my way to the final robot of the pact, the one that has been vividly listening with rapid interest, probably forgetting his mission and engrossed with the story of Steve and Liz, which, quite frankly could make a really good fairytale, if not for the fact that Liz is more of the knight in shining armour and Steve the princess.

"And do you know what the worst part is?" I ask the robot, he shakes his head rapidly, and I wonder if their eyes can grow wide in wonder because this ones just did.

"They don't do anything about it!" I bellow, swinging my hammer at the robot, sending different pieces flying in different directions.

I spare a look at Steve, who fights his proportion of robots, but his moves are slightly rigid and sloppier than usual, he looks as if he is trying to regain his balance.

"Captain, are you alright?" I ask through the comms, as he is quite a distance away for me to shout of this commotion.

It hits me then, the reason for Steve's sudden awkwardness, but Stark voices it before I do,

"You comms are on Thor. We all heard everything. And although the sexual tension line disturbed me to no limits, I don't have the heart to disagree with anything you said."

"Tony!" Liz screams, from wherever she is, before facing her rage (embarrassed rage) onto me, "Thor I'm going to murder you!"

Well maybe you won't get the chance to, is my last thought as Ultron whisks me away, through the sky, saying something along the lines of bother and Thor that I don't completely understand.

 **Tony**

"Sorry, I know I said I was going to check if everything was alright, but these two cars fell and Steve couldn't hold them and Thor was trying but there were two cars so I saved the green one and he saved the red and I wanted the ride back up to be less scary for the people in my car compared to the poor woman that was just flung up by Thor and so I was kind of delayed." I take my eyes away from the scans and info of the city on my screens to look at my sister.

"Lizzie, you were only gone for 2 minutes." I point out, trying to assert some humor to brighten up her unusually gloomy face.

"Seemed longer," she murmurs, "please tell me that brain of yours has some genius method of bringing this city back down safely."

I respond to her request, "I have a genius method of bringing the city down."

She glares at me, the usual glare I receive whenever I say something stupid during a really inappropriate time. It's a glare, mixed with fondness and amusement, something so uniquely Elizabeth Stark, that it gives me some sort of comfort during all this madness.

She sighs loudly and I watch in fascination as her wave of water moves methodically to her sigh. He powers have always fascinated me. They are the only concept in this world that has no logical explanation for it. My sister is the living proof of impossible, and in my opinion, she doesn't even need her powers to claim the title (but I may be slightly biased).

We circle above the flying city, shooting out fairly reasonable ideas that come to mind, only to be shot down by Friday, making me feel like a little kid in school trying to please his or her father, only to be lectured on the flaws of the idea presented (I guess most children didn't have Howard Stark as a father, even an idea for the first grade science fair, a highly advanced robot, had flawed).

"The anti-graves are rigged to flip. Touch them and they go full thrust. The city is not coming down slow." Although I'm not really surprised, (I try to make all my robots as similar to human beings as much as possible. Ultron, however his flaws, is a prime example) I'm slightly shocked (yes, in my head shocked and surprised mean two different things) when I hear the borderline panic in Friday's voice.

If my robot is on the verge of hysterics at the prospect of a city going down, that will not affect her in any way whatsoever, then I'm not doing anything wrong.

Apart from the fact that the city is falling and I have no idea how to stop it by causing a massacre of people.

"Spire his vibranium," Liz's voice fills the frustrating void of ideas, "If we can get Thor to hit it..."

Friday interrupts her. "It will crack. That's not enough. The impact will still be devastating"

It's as if Lizzie's single suggestion allows me to think of new ones, because my previously fried brain comes up with another potential solution.

"Maybe if we can cap the other end. Keep the atomic action doubling back."

"That could vaporize the city. And everyone on it." Friday's quick calculations are proven to be useful and the bearer of terrible news.

Cap's next set of words are directed to the entire team, and isn't very encouraging, "The wave is going to hit any minute. What do you got, Stark?"

Great. I have to tell the great Captain America that I have run out of ideas to save the city and listen to his sigh of disappointment and/or his "encouragement", which is really more of a reprimanding command, to do better, to work faster, harder.

Liz, unsurprisingly predicting my inner turmoil, speaks for me,

"No good news on this end Steve. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface."

"I asked for a solution." He sounds angry, and I mentally scold him for his stupidity, because despite her good heart (way too good in my opinion), Elizabeth Stark is not one to stand by and good scolded by anyone without good reason.

"No shit dumbass. I wasn't actually suggesting blowing up the city with everyone in it. Did you hit your head during the fight or something? If there's a way to get everyone out..."She trails off with the only solution we have at the moment.

"That's an escape plan." Steve's voice has toned down but still doesn't sound pleased. I don't blame him.

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're going to have to make a choice."I tell him the only option in my mind.

"Cap these people are going nowhere...if Stark finds a way to blow this rock..." Natasha's voice comes over the comms and while I knew that she was safe, it's nice to hear her annoying input.

Input to which Liz takes immediate offense,

"Oh hell no! No more innocent is going to die. Not if I can help it. I'll carry them down if I have to but there is no way in hell that I'm just going to blow up a rock with all these people in it."

She was always the better one. She was always the best one. I open my mask and stare at her, because I genuinely don't know another way, if I did I would use it. I have blood on my hands. Too much blood. I knew what I was getting into, how dirty my hands will get since the first day I walked into Stark Industries. Liz's hands were supposed to stay clean. Her hands are clean. She's only saved lives and helped many more. But for the first time, I've dragged her into this mess, and now she's going to be tainted with the bloodshed that's supposed to fall on me.

"Everyone up here versus everyone down here? There's no math." I hear Natasha telling Steve.

Lizzie looks at my face, and I see her eyes close in defeat, and she heaves in a desperate breath before curling her fists.

I'm sorry. This is my entire fault. I'm sorry.

Her eyes open to stare at me once more, and, through whatever she sees in them, she hastily shakes her head and gives me a smile reassuring grin, devoid of light, but a grin nevertheless.

It's okay. We're going to be okay. It's okay.

"I am not leaving this rock with one civilian on it." Captain, being the forever martyr, says.

"I didn't say we should leave," Natasha says it so normally, as if she was suggesting to order pizza for dinner rather than to die on a floating rock.

The silence that follows her statement is full proof of how ridiculous, but how right the idea is because no one on the comms says a word of defiance or questions Natasha's sanity.

"There's worse ways to go," she continues, unaware of the turmoil going through my head.

Because I'm the one that's going to have to blow up this rock. I'm the one that's going to have to kill my friends, my teammates. I'm the one who has to fulfill the legacy that I've been trying to avoid. The legacy that just won't leave me no matter what I do. I will end up killing them anyway.

"Now's not the time to go down guilt lane Tony." My sister's voice breaks my chain of thoughts.

I don't say anything, because I don't know what to say. This is truly all my fault. If I had just told Liz in the first place, she would have stopped this mess, even if it meant sneaking into the lab and trashing the algorithms for Ultron or icing Loki's scepter (which she had done previously).

"Yes, maybe it's your entire fault. Or maybe it's Bruce's fault, who helped you make Ultron. Maybe it's Wanda and Pietro's fault, if they didn't help maybe Ultron wouldn't have come this far. Maybe it's Thor's fault, if he had just taken the scepter back home. but then it would be Loki's fault, because he was the one that brought the scepter to attack our planet it a fit of rage. Then, it would be Loki and Thor's dad's fault, who angered Loki to an extent where he retaliated onto earth. Or maybe this whole thing is my fault, because I could have stopped Ultron before he even happened. Whose fault this is, doesn't matter. Because right now we need to think of a solution that does not involve killing all these people and this rock is the last thing we see. Even though it's a damn good view." Liz's positivity is, as always, refreshing and misguided, because I don't any other way to get all these people out of this rock in time.

And honestly, I really need to up the security on the intercoms between us, because somehow, Nick Fury manages to hack into it,

"Glad you like the view Ms. Stark. Cause it's about to get better."

And right now, I don't care if Fury hacked into our conversation, I don't care if Fury hacks into my entire system, I won't even care if Fury decides to go tangoing with Dummy (although that would probably give me terrible nightmares for more than a month) because the huge ass Hellicarrier rises into view. A Hellicarrier, which I know, has a number of safety boats that are big enough to fit the population of a small city. Like Sokovia.

Liz realizes it too, because she lets out a glorious 'whoop' before whizzing down the sky, to the ground where Captain America and Black Widow stand side by side, they're faces probably mirrored to mine.

"Nice, Right?" I compel myself to refrain from rolling my eyes at the director's cocky voice, "Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch." I hear the smile in Rogers' voice and I attempt to lighten the already light atmosphere with a joke.

But Fury, the son of a bitch, beats me to it.

"Ooh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

I shrug at the glare Steve throws up my way, and fly away, inspecting the core of vibranium once more, faintly hearing the lifeboats being released and the excitement of the people boarding it.

Knowing that I'll just be rendering my brain useless if I keep thinking about this, I decide to forgo the air, and land on the ground right next to Rogers, who carefully helps everyone up on the aircraft.

"Where Lizzie?" I ask him, not seeing my spitfire of a sister or her voice anywhere (and yes, her voice is prominent enough to be seen).

"She went to help Pietro load up the west side." Is Steve's curt answer, a man of few words indeed.

I'm about to pester him into hell, when I hear a familiar sound of repulsers that aren't coming from me. This could only mean that...

"Rhodey!" Liz's joyously shrieks and I duck in time to avoid getting a mouth full of water as she speedily soars through her river to reach War Machine, who is now firing at the multiple of the bogies.

Secretly excited to see my friend as well, I fire my thrusters, and fly off to the distance, not before seeing the Captain's pouty face, which would have been comical if not for the fact that the reason behind it is absolutely disgusting.

Since we all know of the Captain's undying love for my sister (it better be undying or I will ruin the asshat), there is no point in denying that the man also gets jealous, a lot, which makes no sense since he and Liz aren't together. But anyway. No one really misses the way his face sort of scrunches up whenever Charlotte McCoy's incompetent assistant fumbles in the room, stuttering in front of (an all too patient) Liz, a visible blush on his cheeks. It's ridiculous, because there is no need to be defensive over a self-stumbling lunatic who is getting married to a poor lady in a year. The rest of the team, is either taken (Thor, and Clint), a woman (Natasha, Hill) or too soft to even be considered a potential threat for Liz's affections (Bruce). Rhodey, however, is probably ranked pretty high on Steve Rogers' "People-Who-Can-Take-Liz-Away-From-Me" list.

Liz and Rhodey have been close ever since Rhodey and I have met. The relationship between Liz and Rhodey is purely one of sibling love and will always be one of sibling love. Liz loves Rhodes like a brother and Rhodes will do anything for his adopted sister. That is all. Although, I can admit that it is so much fun to watch Steve shift uncomfortably whenever Rhodey (purposely) hugs Liz or places a kiss on her cheek, or even buys her some elaborate trinket.

My deep reflection is interrupted by Rhodes' voice through the suit's speakers,

"Yes, now this is going to be a good story."

I speed up and blast some of the bogies myself, trying to be aware of my sister's lightening sparks that occasionally crossed my way. I make my way alongside my friend.

"Yup, if you live to tell it."

"Geez, Tony, so positive." Liz sarcastically claims as she flies to the other side of Rhodey.

War Machine turns its head to looks at me, "You think I can't hold my own?"

It's as if they purposely give me an opportunity for crude humor, "We get through this, I'll hold your own."

"God, Tony!" Liz says the same time Rhodey sighs, "You had to make it weird."

Liz (Fyra) throws a series of icicles at the robots' core, effectively disarming them "Doesn't he always make it weird. Oh, and by the way, I do not ever need to hear anything remotely related to that ever Tony. Especially with Rhodey of all people. Walking in on you can Pepper after the whole extremis drama was scarring enough. I swear to God if I have to hear you in a sexual sentence again, I will invite Nathaniel Cooper to our house for dinner."

"Oh. Hell. No" I shout out, hitting the nearest bogie with more vigor than necessary.

Rhodey chuckles at my misery, "Oh, I remember Cooper. Liz's very first long-term relationship. Your brother spent hours of sobriety the day you went on your third date with him, just to make sure you got home. The company made millions that day. He did the same thing on the fourth date. It was if you created some sort of seal on the bar every time you left the house with Nathaniel."

My groan is only half-hearted, because an idea immediately hits me.

"I got it. Create a heat seal."

Liz pulls out a robot's head, (it's the most violent I've ever seen her), "Huh?"

"Create a heat seal. I could..."

"Supercharge the spire from below." She finishes the sentence for me.

Friday immediately runs the numbers, and finally delivers some good news (however good it can seem when you're carrying a lifeboat stocked with people because a bogie ruptured the wing).

"A heat seal can work with enough power."

I waste no time, "Thor I've got a plan."

His voice answers, "We're out of time. They're coming for the core."

This time, it's Liz that takes charge, because where the hell is the Captain? (Probably sulking off somewhere in jealousy of Nathaniel Cooper.)

"Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier. Avengers, time to work for a living."

Truer words could not have been said.


	13. The Age of Rescues and Explosions

**The Age of Rescues and Explosions**

If anybody were there to witness the epic battle going on between the Avengers and the Ultrons they would say, that despite the terrible part of it (all of it was terrible), it looked almost magical.

There are streaks of Scarlet Witch's red, Thor and Fyra's lightening, Vision's iconic green, Iron Man's beams of yellow, Captain America's red and blue shield, Hawkeye's dark arrows, the white whiz of Quicksilver, the glowing shadow of Black Widow, Fyra's stream of water, Fyra's flames of fire, and let's not forget the raging roar and green of the Hulk. If not for the robots raging war on the world, the scene would be something to stay, watch and marvel at.

But that wasn't what made this scene so special. It wasn't the great amount of power that was being exhibited from both sides.

No, it was rather the way everyone on the team of good was so in tuned with each other, the way they worked so well that, they weren't in each other's way, but it was teamwork nevertheless. And if anyone were there to witness the epic battle, they would not see a group of dysfunctional humans who were forced together to save the greater good, but rather a team.

Maybe it was in the way, Quicksilver, carried and dashed Scarlet Witch around, effectively dropping her in time so that her red ball of whatever would strike a robot square in the chest.

Maybe it was the way Thor, Vision and Fyra traded the hammer, throwing it around the air as if it were a beach ball instead of precious divinity that shouldn't even be on earth and throwing robots away with the weight of it. Fyra even took it to herself to coat the thing with a burning flame, so that the next time Vision hit a robot with it, it would combust, taking a couple of other bogies along with it to hell.

Or perhaps it was the way Hawkeye and Black Widow memorized the other's fighting patterns, using the knowledge to their advantage, firing arrows at the metal men Black Widow missed and shooting down robots that were nearing Hawkeye's retreating form. She always flipped out of the way when he would shoot. And he would always duck when she would kick.

Some would say it was in the way, the Captain catches Fyra with his shield, the latter jumping on it as if it were a trampoline, and the former boosting her up, with such ease that indicates that it wasn't the first time. Or maybe it's the way, Black Widow catches Captain America's shield without a second thought or a warning, as if she knew he was going to throw it to her. It could also be the way that Captain anticipates the wave of water that comes to save him when he's in danger of being burnt by a laser beam.

It could also be the way the Hulk knows who to hit and who not to. The way it...he roars whenever Fyra, Iron Man, or especially Black Widow is injured. The way he gives a secret smile to Iron Man when the red and gold clad hero whizzes past him.

It is indisputably evident in the way Iron Man and Fyra fight together as if they have been doing so for centuries. She throws a bogie to him and he fires at it. She captures the robot by the neck while he shoots it, while managing to keep his sister injury free. He catches her when a tin man ruins her river of water that keeps her in the air. She throws icicles his way and without looking, he grabs and uses it to his advantage.

Many can agree that it may not even be the way they fight. It's the way Pietro pauses for a second in front of Wanda to receive confirmation that she's okay. The way Natasha hesitantly looks at the Hulk before resuming her battle. The way everyone subtly helps Clint out, now that they know what he needs to go home to. The way Natasha and Liz smirk at each other, sharing a private, silent joke like the good friends they are. It's in the way, Steve's eyes meet Liz's for a brief moment, and everything just disappears, and although it's only for a moment, the two savor it as if it were an eternity, because they know that moments are all they have. It's in the way Thor closes his eyes for a fraction of a second, letting his mind be plagued with images of brown hair, matching eyes, and a night of watching the sky, before reopening them to fight with newfound strength. It's in the way Tony panics until he sees his sister, well and alive and in the way Liz always has her brother in her peripheral vision, just in case he needs help.

Or maybe it's all these factors. Because if anybody were there to witness the epic battle going on between the Avengers and the Ultrons, they would say that the Avengers would win.

Because they are a team.

 **Vision**

I rather sense him coming. Maybe it's because he's intended to be me, or perhaps it was the awfully loud groan of frustration he makes. But whatever it may be, I meet Ultron in the middle, not willing to shy away from any of his hits.

I am thrown into the brick wall, and I take a moment to gather my knowledge on my strength, which happens to be a lot, since the structure crumbles on the impact of my back. I don't have too much time to contemplate my recent birth and a newfound ability, as Ultron comes charging at me, in a futile attempt to put me down.

Something, maybe the surge of power that courses through me, tells me that it will take much more than a beautifully articulated form of metal to take me down.

Harnessing the power of the stone that resides on my head, an Infinity Stone, I channel it at my source of anger, pouring almost everything I have into it, while somehow knowing that it can never be enough.

And although I haven't yet been fully welcomed into the family that calls themselves Avengers, it is fulfilling to know that they will indeed support me.

As I'm dragging Ultron into the open, away from the battle, I feel the energy start to drain; I haven't had these powers for too long, so it's not a surprise that I will have difficulty using them. It becomes more difficult when Ultron fights against it, and I think that I can't hold against it any longer, when three more beams accompany me.

The first one is Thor Odinson, blue lightning coming out in angry streaks, much describing the man who holds jovial temper wherever he goes, as he thinks he needs it in order to battle. It is an odd thought. Why would you bring in more fire to a raging battle, when it is evident all you need is peace? But he is a rational thinker, he doesn't let his anger get the best of him, and for what it's worth, I think that he'll make a great king of Asgard, when he does decide to descend to his throne.

The second beam of lightning comes from Tony Stark's Iron Man. My creator, the one that brought me to life. Despite me being Ultron's malevolent dream, Tony Stark refused to give up on me, and programmed Jarvis into my systems. His beam is a fiery orange-red, hard and controlled on the outside, but holds great capabilities for creation, much like the man himself. Tony Stark relies upon and hides behind his persona of uncaring and brash but it takes one to know one, as they say, because if Tony put his mind to it, then he can very well accomplish anything.

The final beam, the most powerful beam, should be considered a wonder due to its complex colours and extravagant beauty, so strikingly similar to the source. Elizabeth Stark's beam is what finally puts Ultron down, and I don't doubt she could have done it herself. The single streak of lightning (not quite purple, but not blue either) is intertwined with a stroke of a red flame along with small shards of icicles that mass up to a great combination of power, that overwhelms me, who stands a few feet away from her. Her power doesn't really surprise me since it has something to do with these Infinity Stones, but everything else about this woman does.

Her kindness is unlimited, her quick acceptance of me should be enough evidence to support the theory, but the way she talks to everyone, the way she treats everyone as if they're the most important being in the world has certainly been an eye opening experience since my birth. She's rich, something that makes her of a high standard on this earth, privy to almost everything this planet can offer for comfort. However, she's humble; one look at her, and you wouldn't be able to tell that she makes millions of dollars in a month. Elizabeth Stark holds so much beauty and greatness in her that the probability of her being a goddess is pretty high on my charts.

I may not have been in this world for too long, but I can firmly state that Elizabeth Stark is probably the best thing that has ever happened to it.

 **Wanda**

I hide my trembling hand from view as I watch the robots fly away into the sky and into the distance.

"They're trying to leave the city!" Thor exclaims, and I'm pretty sure that his dusty, grimy face matches mine.

"We can't let them. Not even one. Rhodey!" I don't know who Iron Man calls, but whoever it is, effectively does the job, as the robots burst into fireworks of orange before my eyes.

Or maybe that was Vision...

I focus my attention on the Captain, who has started to give orders. "We got to move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stranglers. Be right behind you."

Clint (my favourite Avenger so far) looks at the weird metal thing attached to the church, "What about the core?"

This is it. This is my chance to make amends for everything I have done. For all the destruction, I have been a part of causing. I played the biggest role in creating this threat, so I must play a bigger role in trying to clean it up.

"I'll protect it."

And one by one, they all rush away, and I'm left alone in the empty church, my fingers sparking red, waiting for any impending attacks.

The familiar whizz of Pietro's speed is what soothes my racing heartbeat, and I watch him place Elizabeth Stark down on the ground before walking up to me.

"Get the people on the boats," I order him, my tone resolute as to indicate no room for argument.

However, my brother has made it his self-assigned job to defy me at every turn.

"I'm not going to leave you here."

"I can handle this," I tell him, proving my point by sending a robot flying out of the church in a mess of metals with a simple red spark.

"Wand-"

"I'll stay with her," Elizabeth speaks for the first time in a long time. From what I have heard, the behaviour is odd for her who is in habit of constant talking.

"Well then, I don't have to worry," Pietro announces walking away, and I wonder why he isn't running when it occurs to me that he might be waiting for a response from Elizabeth.

"Of course you don't. She's with me." Elizabeth shrugs and states simply, and I hear Pietro laugh before whizzing away.

It's slightly unsettling, the immediate, quick (no pun intended) friendship between Pietro and Elizabeth. My brother spent most of his years hating the Avengers and Tony Stark, but a couple of minutes with Stark's sister (who is also Stark, but she seems too warm to be called by her last name) and they are as thick as thieves are.

Having said all that, I wipe my sweaty hands along the seam of my coat, trying to ease the nervousness out of my system. There is a lot to be nervous for, when you're alone in a broken chapel with Elizabeth Stark who, despite being the friendliest Avenger, also happens to be the scariest person I have ever met, and that must account for something since I have interacted with Hydra for the better part of my life. Not to mention that fact that I almost killed her friend, which will never cease to be unforgivable, but I wonder if this is the perfect moment for this woman to extract vengeance on me for her friend. God knows I deserve it.

"I don't bite." Her voice rises me out of my musing and I look up to see her slightly amused face, even though she looks like she would want to be anywhere but here with me.

"I was just..." I'm at a loss for words. I don't know what to say or do that will ever make her forgive me. I don't think she ever will. I don't think she can. I've yet to meet a human being with such a capacity to forgive.

"Look, I can't come back from everything that I have been through. You can't go back and change the things you've done. All we can do is move on. And I don't...hate you. I just need some time. You know, maybe we can start slowly when all of this is over?" She stretches out her olive branch and it takes all of my strength to refrain from bursting into tears.

I nod, and hastily wipe the few tears that have managed to fall and caress my cheeks. I get a glimpse of the warm smile that stretches on her face, and scan the land around me, entirely devoid of any robotic activity.

"You should get yourself on a boat. Pietro will come and get me after you do." I tell her, watching her pick her nails in boredom and impatience.

"I told him that I wasn't going to leave you alo..."

I interrupt her, "I know, but the sooner everyone gets on the plane, the sooner we can leave. We can't stay here waiting for everyone."

She nods, immediately understanding my reasoning, before running in the directions all the Avengers had gone to, calling out to me,

"See ya later."

I don't respond, but I don't suppress the relieved sigh that leaves me.

I'm glad, because it has come to my attention that Elizabeth Stark is one enemy I don't want to have.

She is, after all, the true leader and heart of the Avengers.

 **Clint**

The boy screaming for help somehow turns into Cooper and the mother screaming and begging for his life somehow transforms into Laura's cries, and I feel the resignation creep into my body. Not that there is any choice to make, I save that kid, that's the only option, but for a second, it is a lot to consider, especially when you have a real Cooper and Laura waiting for you to come back home, the latter heavily pregnant.

Disobeying my aching muscles, I make my way to the pile of rubble, where the little boy is buried in. His eyes are slightly hazed and wide open, reminding me of a drunk Elizabeth Stark from a few days ago (was it only a few days ago when we were happy and free? Free from war, destruction, and blood on our hands). I pick him up gingerly, making sure to keep it as gentle as possible in fear of worsening his injuries.

I feel it before I hear it. It's an odd feeling, almost like butterflies in the pit of your stomach, telling you something is off, something's not right. My heart beats fast and hard, and when I turn, it's to see the series of bullets that knock the Captain and Thor right off their feet, and makes its way towards me.

Then, everything moves in slow motion. Maybe this is how Pietro sees the world.

I have to make a choice. The bullets move in closer, and a thousand and one images float through my mind. They say a man's life floats in front of him as he dies. Maybe this is it.

I think of Laura, Cooper, Lila, Nathaniel. The only people in the world that make all of this worth it. The people I'm fighting for. I can't leave them, they'll be devastated. Cooper shouldn't have to grow up without a father, Lila will be way too young to even remotely understand what is going on. And Laura, Laura will have to raise not two but three children on her own. Nathaniel. The son that I won't be able to meet. The son who will grow up not knowing the love of his father, not knowing his father. I can't leave them.

The bullets move in closer, and I look at the little boy in my arms.

And it's as if I receive blinding clarity. I fight for my family, I come back for my family, and I am inspired by my family. They make me better; they encourage me to become better. I won't give up on who I am. Ultron may kill me, but he will not succeed in taking a little boy away from his family.

And the slow motion stops.

In the split second it should take for the bullets to reach me, I immediately turn around, waiting for the sharp impact that will surely hit my back, causing exploding pain that I've felt before, just not in such multitudes.

However, the pain doesn't reach. I feel nothing at all and I look up.

And stop breathing.

Because what was supposed to be my final view of a battleground and war-torn Sokovia border lined by blue skies, is instead a worn out Pietro in his blue suit, effectively blocking out my path and sight from the rest of the world.

It only takes me a split second to absorb the fact that I did not get shot and Ultron did send his machine gun barrelling my way, which means that if I didn't get hit, then...

Shit!

I look up at Pietro's face, which should present the first sign and indication that I have unintentionally murdered a kid and will have to carry that guilt for as long as I live and perhaps will stumble into a depressing oblivion because of it.

I look at Pietro's face because I know that when I see the lifelessness in them, it will be my undoing, which is exactly what I need, exactly what I deserve.

Not letting go of the smaller kid in my arms (in fear that I will drop him and my hands will be soaked in too much blood to be able to carry my newborn son in the future), I get up and stare at Pietro, only to have his back faced to me.

His back that is devoid of any bullet holes.

Because of the gigantic ice wall that carefully encloses us in its impenetrable borders, held tight together by none other than Elizabeth Stark.

Her hands that are placed on the ice, make a series of movements that I don't exactly catch due to my extremely close brush with death, and before I can blink my eyes, the wall is down and gone, and Liz slowly descends to the ground.

"What? Didn't see that coming." She asks Pietro, with a cheeky smile on her face, and he laughs hysterically, probably coming down from his own brush with death.

"You're the best.'' Is his only reply, but none of us misses the lightning fast kiss he places on her cheek as he speeds away.

Liz's attention turns to me, "You alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I've got you." It's the most honest and truthful thing I have ever said to her, because if it wasn't for her, my kids would have been orphans and my wife would have been a widow.

I know that it will not be the last time, but I pray to whatever God is up there for giving us Elizabeth Stark.

 **Liz**

"That's it." Steve runs up to me, and I scan the area (just in case, we can never be sure) before checking the lifeboats that are in view.

Clint is passed out across the seats; Pietro and Wanda slumped and huddled together on the floor in front of him. I just received the okay from Nat a couple of minutes ago along with the fact that Bruce is still hulked out but is in an aircraft and that she'll be able to convince him to turn it around, I don't doubt her. Vision and Rhodey have flown away to God knows where which leaves Steve, me, Thor and Tony, two of which are supposed to stay behind and blow up this rock.

I look at Steve, waiting expectantly for me, with an outstretched hand, and I grab onto it immediately, without any doubt. If there is one thing that I learned after all this, is to never ever, stall. Seize the opportunity and grab onto it for dear life, because in my world, opportunities are rare.

We're about to walk hand in hand, when the city, rock, whatever it is, drops down violently, meaning someone activated the core, and I have no time to react.

Steve does, and he holds onto my hand and jumps on the lifeboat and I grab his shoulders and brace onto him for dear life because I meant it when I said I have a great disdain for roller coasters and such, including men (however hot and dreamy they may be) who jump several feet with me in tow, clinging onto nothing but their hand.

I don't have time to scold Steve on his sudden act, because I know immediately that the core has been activated, as the city plunges down at an unreasonable speed, along with the great bursts of light that become a dead giveaway.

The worst part; hearing Tony's groans of pain as he tries to hold a falling city up, which is so like him that it makes me want to cry because he genuinely thinks that if he tries hard enough, he can hold an entire city up, so he will try, until the very last bones in his body breaks.

So there is no choice, but to go back down there and hold the city up with him, break the very last of my bones with him, because there is no me without him; Elizabeth Stark is nothing without Tony Stark.

"I'm going down there," I tell Steve, and before I can summon my wave, his hands on my bicep stops me.

"Liz, you're practically dropping from exhaustion, there is no way you can summon enough power."

I only hear half of the sentence, because there is literally nothing he can say to me that will stop me from helping my brother.

"It's Tony." Is my only explanation and justification (the only one necessary) before I speed down, so fast that I'm practically falling.

I come to a stop on the falling city and place myself on the very edge of it, close enough to help Thor and my brother at the same time.

"Lizzie," I hear my brother's incoming scolding and I interrupt him,

"Shut up and tell me what to do."

His sigh of resignation is accompanied by the directions, "Help Thor. I can handle things on my end."

Well not by your painful voice, you can.

It doesn't matter anyway. The only reason I'm teetering on the edge of this rock is because I need to reach Tony's side of the core and Thor's side of the core at the same time,; I have the power to help both of them and so I will.

"Thor, on my mark..." Tony screams.

I lift my left hand in the air watching the lightening intertwine through my fingers before creating a tornado of some sort through the air, and I look down to make sure my left hand is fully in control of the swirling vortex of fire facing the ground (or what will be the ground.)

"Now!"

I bring my right hand down and my left hand up, clapping them together so that the fire and lightning can meet, and I only see my handiwork for a minute before I realize that I'm falling, and can't stop.

(I later learn that it was Tony who on the verge of falling into an oblivion, who caught me, and Thor who caught the both of us, and placed us on a floating raft until we woke up, only minutes later.)

I fall and I close my eyes, the exhaustion weighing too much, but not before I feel the same set of protective metal hands encompass me, and I know that there is a smile on my face.

Because there has never been a single moment in my life where Tony has let me down.


	14. The Age of First Kisses and Shovel Talks

**The Age of First Kisses and Shovel Talks**

 **Steve**

My breath is stuck in my throat as I watch the city burst into little pieces below me and although there was a great possibility that this would happen, even though this was something we had prepared ourselves for since before we landed in Sokovia, I have to force down the misery that clogs up my throat.

 _Liz._

She's the one factor that I did not anticipate; she's the one factor that hit my world like a hurricane, shaping it for the better. She's been the constant warmth in my world of frozen cold and now I have to face the possibility that she died out there, along with that wretched city that fell into the ocean.

Because she wasn't supposed to die, she was supposed to get on this lifeboat and get home to safety.

The rest of us could have died. The rest of us weren't as good as her. No one was as good as she was. _She wasn't supposed to die._

She was supposed to go back home and continue doing good, she's supposed to keep smiling, helping the world, trying to make it as good as she is even though nothing can ever amount to her. She's sacrificed so much for others; for her brother, for her friends, for the world, for the Avengers, for me and the only repayment she gets (even though she'll say that she wasn't doing to get something back.) is her life being taken away saving people who just don't care.

And God it hurts.

I stumble away from the open area crowded by children, mothers and father, ignoring Natasha's voice worriedly calling to me over the headpiece, because I'm still Captain America. I have a role to play. I can't break down and cry in front of all these people. Captain America is supposed to stay strong. I'm supposed to stay strong.

 _(The irony of it all is that there is no Captain America without Elizabeth Stark. She's the only things that's kept me going after the ice)_

I find myself in the cockpit, and by the lack of a pilot, I see that the plane is on autopilot. The area is devoid of any human activity, and I am thankful for the fact that no one is here to see the tears that run down my cheeks and the silent sobs that heave my body.

Because for the first time in half a decade, I cry.

I cry for the life that I lost. I cry for Peggy Carter. I cry for Bucky. I cry for Howard. I cry for Tony. I cry for Thor. I cry for the Howling Commandos.

I cry for Elizabeth Stark, and everything that I missed. Everything we could have had. Everything that we could have been. We missed so much. We wasted so much time. I took her for granted. Thought we had all the time in the world. Thought that she would always be here. Thought that I can screw up a couple more times in an effort in trying to tell her how I feel before getting it right. I thought that she would never leave.

" _You're getting there Captain." She teasingly giggles at me, making fun at my obvious failure to take her down._

 _I laugh, my mood jovial despite being beat almost all morning, while Liz stands in front of me looking she's on an award show. Her face is bright and happy, and she grins at me with the familiar glint in her eye, and all I want to do in this moment is wrap her in my arms and kiss her senseless._

 _She tilts her head to the side, curiously gazing at me before taking advantage of my lack of focus to come charging at me, knocking me to the ground and falling with me, landing breathlessly beside me on the mats._

" _Let's just face the facts Cap; you're never going to beat me in a fight." She teases again, squirming around the mat in an attempt to find a comfortable position, and I clear my throat in discomfort, her body doing unbearable things to mine. And all she did was shift slightly._

 _But, let's not forget the way she lays next to me, her hair fanned out in a halo around her, breaths coming in short puffs, breasts rising and falling rapidly, face flushed, eyes closed. If I had to choose to look at one thing for the rest of my life, I would choose Elizabeth Stark without a pause._

" _Cat got your tongue Cap? Or are you still reeling from you consecutive meetings with losing?"_

 _I can't tell her the things that were running through my mind, but I can't lie to her either, so I tell her the truth, juts not all of it,_

" _Na, I was just thinking, that all these losses were victories for me." I shift to my side to face her properly, smiling at the way her eyes narrowed suspiciously, years of living with Tony probably telling her that I was going to spin this around somehow._

 _I elaborate, "If you win every time we fight. It'll help me know that you'll be winning and coming out unscathed every time we got out there to fight."_

 _Her eyes immediately soften, a smile gracing her lips. A better smile, a deeper smile, and a happier smile._

" _Lizzie!" Tony's voice calls from the steps, echoing to the training room._

 _I groan out in frustration and in grief for the loss of almost every alone time I have with the woman who apparently finds my sadness amusing, according to the laughter that shakes her frame._

 _She jumps up from her sleeping position in one fluid flow and calls out to her brother._

" _Coming!" And she rushes out of the room, shrugging apologetically (although she doesn't seem too apologetic)_

 _I really need to find my own place._

I heave in a deep breath, turning on my comms, composing myself.

 _Closing my heart. Numbing my heart. Falling back into the ice. This way nothing can hurt me._

I need to be the Captain. The team still depends on me. Liz's team still depends on me. The city Liz died to save is still on this lifeboat, they still need to get onto land safely. Liz didn't sacrifice herself for nothing.

I look around the cockpit, my hands twitching for something to do, brain itching for a something to keep my occupied with.

The solution comes in the form of the red beeping light on the controllers, indicating that the plane is on autopilot. I quickly get on the empty chair and grab a hold of the yoke to manoeuvre the plane as I wish, opting for a faster speed so that I can get the hell out of this plane and to a punching bag.

" _That's some punch. I've never seen someone punch a punching bag off its hook before, all the while making it look so bruised that I feel more sympathetic for the punching bag than I feel for your poor hand"_

Never mind, I'll just drink away my sorrows.

" _Steve! You're here. I've missed you. Thor here is no fun. He keeps shushing me."_

" _Tony's not actually my brother. He's my...uncle."_

" _You have really pretty eyes. The prettiest. They're blue. Really blue. The bluest of all blue."_

So, after establishing the fact that I can't do anything without being reminded of Elizabeth Stark, I just continue to fly the carrier, ignoring the voice in my head that sounds exactly like the women I'm trying to forget at the moment,

" _You're doing it again Steve. You're getting cold. You're freezing up, and pushing feelings away. Stop"_

And since the only person I really listen to is Liz (the real, live Liz), I ignore that stupid voice in my head and continue flying, increasing the speed of the plane until it makes me want to hurl, and keeping my gaze focused on the clouds in the distance, ignoring my instincts to turn this ship back and crash into the sea in an attempt to find the body of the only person that matters right now.

"A little too fast, don't you think?"

I close my eyes shut, compelling the voice in my head to leave, telling _her_ to leave, because if I hear her voice again, I'm going to break something.

"I mean, your passengers have been through a very traumatic situation, you know, with their city blowing up and all by an army of super intelligent, but evil robots, and—"

My eyes snap open so quickly, the movement hurts my head, but I don't care because, this voice isn't in my head.

I get up and turn around, causing my hand and control to leave the yoke, that causes the plane to make a sharp movement that had Liz clinging onto the window panes for support, as she glares at me.

"Steve! Either fly the plane or put it on autopilot. Actually, don't fly the plane. Put it on autopilot. You seem to be thinking that this is some sort of race against the other planes, with the speed you're going at. Which is such a Tony thing to do. Maybe you've been hanging out with Tony too much, I mean, you practically live with him, we all sort of live together. It is rather weird actually, all of us living in the same tower, on the same floor, our rooms right next to each other. Whose idea was that..."

I tone out her voice. Because Elizabeth Stark is standing in front of me, alive, and breathing, and God, so beautiful, and I feel the coldness leaving me as a burst of warmth takes its place, as it always has done whenever she's around.

And she's here. She has soot all over her face. Her hair sticks out in odd places, and has knots forming at the edges. The blue suit she wore today is torn, and wrinkled, looking more brown than blue. She looks exhausted; clinging onto the railing for support, breaths coming out in soft puffs, even though she's still talking a mile a minute (somehow, her conversation took a turn to ice cream preferences). But her eyes still have the familiar glint and spark in them (lined with streaks of blue, and indication of the heavy use of her powers) and her lips are curved upward in a smile, despite her constant talking, and in a split second decision, I put the plane on autopilot once more, and take long strides towards her.

"And he tried to make a new flavour, in the most Tony way possible but he was never much of a coo—"

And her ramble is cut off with a squeak, and I feel her sharp intake of air as she gasps at the suddenness of my lips on hers.

And for the first time, I forget about the ice. I forget about the mission. I forget about the world. I forget about Captain America.

The only importance at the moment is Liz. The way she relaxes into the kiss, winding her arms around my neck, tugging me in as if we weren't close enough (we aren't). One of my hands that are cupping her face makes its way down to her hip, pulling her closer, so that we are entirely pressed up against each other.

It's hot and intense, the excessively close call we had in losing each other taking its final toll, and my plans to take it easy and slow are thrown out the window. Our tongues battle for dominance, my hands roaming everywhere; her back, her hip, the swell of her breasts. Her hands aren't frozen either; they move across my bicep, scratch at my back, play with my hair.

She tastes like strawberries and champagne and something so distinctly Elizabeth Stark that makes me fall deeper into the moment than I already am, my fingers tugging on her hips in an attempt to bring her closer, even though at this point it may not be humanly possible. My teeth nip on her bottom lip and she groans and—

"Are you guys done yet?" Tony's voice comes out of nowhere, and Liz squeaks and removes her lips from mine and we both look at each other in utter mortification as we look around the room for a sign of the billionaire.

His voice makes an entry again. Through our comms.

That was not turned off the entire time.

That was connected to every member of the team.

"I am going to assume that the two of you are done since I don't feel the potent need to vomit anymore. And don't worry about your very public PDA because Barton is asleep and nothing less than an another alien invasion will wake him up, Thor's comm broke and I'm surprised it even lasted this long, the power twins don't give two shits, and I never, ever want to talk about this unless my life depended on it, not even then. The only person you need to worry about is Romanoff." Liz groans loudly and buries her head in my chest, her harms still wrapped around my neck and my hands still on her hips.

She looks at me before she huffs out a breath, her face flushed and eyes darkened with desire.

"Screw it."

And in one fluid motion, both our comms are lying on the ground and her lips are on mine once more.

 **Liz**

We walk out of the ship, hand in hand, Steve and I, and I feel a sense of happiness and peace entrap me for the first time in days. Sure, the battle isn't over yet. We still have damage control and all these people to think about. But the worst is over, and all of us are alive and...I just kissed Steve Rogers.

Multiple times.

We still need to talk about us; a talk that must be postponed due to all the crazy that will for sure accompany us as soon as we walk out the ship.

"Ms Stark. Captain." I look up to see Nick Fury approaching us, but my attention is completely refocused when the whirring sound of the ship fills the silence, and I turn around to see the ship with the Sokovians flying away into the distance.

"Where are they going?" I demand Fury, unaware that they were going to send everyone away.

"Their being relocated to anywhere they want to go to. They'll be housed in buildings under SHIELD'S name and can choose whatever job their equipped to do." Fury tells me, his face its usual passive, as if he didn't help an entire country get a home and job.

"That's...so nice of SHIELD to do." I tell him truthfully, feeling glad that the people can start a new life without any massive troubles for now and that I don't have to worry about relocating anymore.

"Well it's a day for nice things. Speaking of, I'm glad you two got your shit together. The sexual frustration was going to kill everyone." Maria says, coming up to me, at her rightful place beside her boss.

"Maria..." Steve warns threateningly, despite looking too happy to look remotely scary, but I'm too busy looking at Nick Fury's smug and knowing look and the old memories come crashing back.

" _Ms Stark, I'm your unofficial tour guide for the hour. The boss has given me specific instructions as where to take you. So if you may follow my lead."_

I always found it weird. That day, when I first met Steve at SHIELD as I was taking my mini tour, we didn't go anywhere but the gym. In fact, the only place we went was the gym. We skipped all the other labs, and floors, and went straight to the 40th floor, into the gym doors, and to Steve Rogers.

Now looking at Fury smiling like a middle school girl who just told someone something that was supposed to be a secret, the puzzle pieces finally fit together.

"You set me up!" Maria and Steve look at me questioningly but I laugh as Fury raises an eyebrow, even though he looks so pleased with himself.

"That day, when I came to SHIELD for the first time. When you "Set" a tour for me. It was all a set up. You...you were playing matchmaker!" I accuse, but he does seem to be offended.

"And look where it got you Ms. Stark." He tells me, pointedly looking the intertwined hands of Steve and me before walking away, Maria Hill hot on his heels, despite her curious face.

"You want to tell me what that was about?" Steve asks me, his face mirroring Maria's and I probably should tell him first, since this heavily involves and affects him.

"I will. I will." I grab his face and kiss him. It's meant to be brief and more of a peck than a kiss, but he pulls me in and deepens it, and I don't think I will ever tire of kissing Steve Rogers.

I pull back and run away, calling back to him, "I need to tell Tony!"

Tony is going to have a field day with this.

 **Thor**

"So basically, my sister is better than all of us." Tony states, and I shrug.

"That's not really a surprise."

Steve interjects, "But is it possible that her carrying the hammer have less to do with her worth and more to do with her powers. You yourself told us that her powers started to act up when you were in London."

"It's why I'm going away. I need answers and I cannot find them on this earth." I tell both the Captain and Stark.

"When you get anything on Liz, just make sure to tell us." Steve asks me to do something I would have done regardless. I don't want to keep Liz in the dark about her powers' origins any longer than necessary.

Tony clears his throat and replaces his carefree face with one of slight malice and seriousness, "And since we're talking about my sister, Rogers, I don't want to know or see or hear anything that is going on between the two of you, I've heard enough for me to need therapy until I die. But know that if you hurt her, I'm sending all my suits after you in your sleep, and I will publicly and electronically destroy you."

And with that threat, the genius billionaire walks away, not sparing a glance at any one of us, especially the Captain, whose eyes are wide at the genuine threat.

He looks at me, "I'm going to get this for at least a month right?" he states, already accepting the fact.

I nod, "Yes you are. And if you hurt Lady Stark, I will personally make you my hammer's cushion."

And I too, walk away, getting too much satisfaction at the way the Captain's eyes widen further.

 **Natasha**

I blankly stare at the bland wall, the emptiness of the object hitting for too close to my feelings at the moment.

What I did to Bruce was cold, and selfish, and although at the moment it seemed right, now I'm wallowing in remorse and guilt.

Because now he's gone and I'm here worried for someone who is angry, invincible and scared.

When I spot the star spangled hero walking (more like trudging) down the hallway, I immediately decide him to be the perfect distraction, so I call him.

"Oh Captain. My Captain" I sing song, and bury my chuckle when I spot the flush on his neck and hear his annoyed groan.

"Natasha, I don't want to talk about it." He tells me, not making eye contact, even though he turns around to face me.

"Talk about what?" I feign innocence, "The blown up city, the Sokovians, or maybe you mean the superhot make out session you had with Liz that had everyone turned on just by listening to it."

Steve groans again, loudly and with more annoyance and anger, before giving up his politeness to ignore me and walk away.

It's just as I remember the task I added to my "to do list when Steve and Liz finally got together"

"Captain," Even I can hear the immediate variation of my voice and it gets the Captain attention.

I place my hand on my holster gripping the barrel of my gun, "You hurt her, and I break your neck."

The threat is delivered clear and simple and I only faintly see the Captain nodding sincerely once before I look out the window to try to spot the women in reference so that I can deliver the same threat to her.

I love them both just the same.

 **Clint**

"I have the plane ready for you. It'll take you straight to your home."

Steve waits patiently outside my door, he's changed out of his uniform into something casual, and I appreciate all the help he has done so that I can get to my family faster.

We walk in silence to the jet, the two of us not ever needing much to say, feeling more comfortable in the silence as opposed to Liz and I.

However, when we finally reach the jet, I shake his hand and give him a nod, "Thanks man, this means a lot."

He smiles at me, and I notice how for the first time, it isn't tainted by the same darkness that used to encompass him for the previous weeks (I guess Liz has that effect on people).  
"It was nothing. Go to family Clint. We'll see you, ya?"

The question is politely delivered , and I shrug in answer, because although I'm genuinely sure that I'm done with Avenging, I'm definitely not down with these guys, they're family.

And it's that familial bond that prompts me to tell Steve,

"We're not going to gossip about you and Liz, ever, but you better treat her right, or I will come back just to put an arrow in you."

"You have my word." Is his only answer, and the fact that he seems slightly unfazed by the threat is the only indication that Nat got to him before I could.

And as I'm flying back to my home and back to my family (leaving the other one in a private island at an Avenger base), I contemplate the way that both Liz and Steve's answers to my threat were practically the same.

Slight wariness, a small smile at the reference of each other, noticeable awe, and no hesitation in confirming their disdain to cause hurt.

I always knew they would end up together.


	15. The Age of Ultron

**The Age of Ultron**

 **Three Months After Ultron**

Steve Rogers lands with a hard thump onto the ground, the speed in which he was hit adding to the pain and noise. His grin is surprising though, considering the fact that the strike will probably leave a bruise for a day. It doesn't amount to the pride he feels as Pietro Maximoff countered all his attacks and successfully managed to create and deliver his own.

It's been three months since Sokovia blew up to pieces, since Tony created a robot meant for world peace but brought destruction that was incomparable to anything. Three months of training Wanda and Pietro Maximoff so that they could be able to fight to their full potential suppose they enter a mission.

While Pietro was making friends quickly, heavily aquatinted with most people in this building, Wanda kept mostly to herself, preferring to talk to Vision, Steve, or her brother. She's still wary of the Starks and not even Elizabeth Stark's sunshine like personality can fix it, in fact, both women are purely civil towards each other, not quite friendly due to Wanda's immense hate for Liz's brother.

"That's good." Steve tells a beaming Pietro, "We'll work on your noise level next time."

Pietro rises his hands up in a defensive shrug, "What do you mean noise level?"

It's Sam Wilson, who stops his pursuit of trying to beat the War Machine that responds, "Man, you could wake up all of America with the noise you make."

Pietro pouts childishly, and earns a hair ruffle from Wanda, who manages to comfort her brother, and keep her ground on the fight between her and Vision.

The ringing of the phone distracts Steve and he moves away from the training mats towards the sound of the odd ringtone Tony had set up for him. Smiling at the picture of Clint's choking face that pops on the screen, he slides the green button to the left, suppressing the bout of pride he feels at the motion.

"Clint."

"Hey man," Clint says, trying to focus on Steve's voice instead of his two screaming children that chase each other around the house, Lila holding a pacifier that Cooper wants, "Just wanted to tell you that the baby came yesterday morning. We just came back from the hospital."

Steve's shock quickly morphs into a laugh and grabs everyone's attention as he repeatedly whispers congratulations through the phone.

Clint rubs the back of his neck, unable to form a coherent sentence when he sees Laura enter the living room, holding his son in her arms, looking at Clint with the same love and adoration that was present on their wedding day.

Natasha, who was flowing Laura, spots Clint with the phone and sprits towards him, almost knocking him down in an attempt to grab it from him.

He happily obliges, more than willing to hand the device away in order to get to his son, and smirks when both Lila and Cooper immediately calm down the sight of the baby, walking mesmerized towards him as well.

"How's training going?" Natasha rapidly asks Steve, unaware of the family moment going on behind her.

"Natasha," Steve chuckles through the phone, "I was talking to Clint."

The redhead rolls her eyes but uncaringly continues her drilling "Has Wanda improved her control. And did you teach Pietro how to break his run more efficiently?" She moves out of the house as she talks, sitting on the front porch, looking out into the rolling hills.

"Wanda is working on her control. Pietro can stop running safely and can throw a punch while he does it, Sam can't beat Rhodey yet, but he's pretty close. When are you coming back?"

Feeling the nostalgia from talking about the things Natasha considers normal is nothing compared to the peace and escape she feels with Clint, Lila, Laura, Cooper and most recently Nathaniel at this small farmhouse in the middle or nowhere.

"When I feel like it," Natasha replies elusively, hearing the chatter coming back from inside the house, ready to return to it.

Steve somehow seems to sense her unwillingness to continue the conversation and softly wishes her the best, telling her to send Clint his congrats once more before ending the call.

Steve turns around, and as expected, all the members in the room have stopped their training and are staring at him expectantly, wanting in on what has got him so happy.

"Nathaniel is here!" he announces, and waits out until the cheers and whoops have quieted down before he makes his way into the showers, ten minutes later than his usual time.

Waving goodbye to Pietro and Sam, who sit on the mats and munch on a chocolate chip bar, he walks out of the Avengers facility located just on the outskirt of the city, not far from his apartment in New York or too far away from the people he considers family.

He enjoys the thrill of driving a car. He's never driven one before and Sam forced him to learn a month ago. Tony pulled some strings and made sure that he got his license within days so that Steve can use the car that Tony built specifically for him, the blue and red colour instantly removed and coloured a neutral white on Liz's terms.

It's a hot summer day in Malibu, and although Steve hates the artificial air that comes from the vents in the car, he deems it necessary to turn the air conditioner on, but it doesn't stop him from wheeling the windows down to let the wind comb through his car as he speeds through the highway, towards his favourite part of the day.

It comes in the form of long, dark hair, brown doe eyes, a skip to every step, and a smile that, in his opinion, can light up the entire world.

It comes in the form of Elizabeth Stark.

Saying goodbye to Charlie, who waves her eyebrows suggestively at the sight of the white car that parks itself in front of her hospital every single day. She gives her old friend a dirty look, but it's replaced by a bright happy smile as she walks out the front door, towards what is now becoming her favourite part of her day.

"Hey there Ms. Stark" Steve teasingly calls out to her leaning through the window so that their lips meet halfway.

The kiss is slow and sweet, the couple wrapped in their own bubble that they've created three months ago, opting not to rush into things but rather take their time and take it slow, savouring every moment they get.

The kiss is brought to an end when Liz smiles against Steve's mouth, murmuring against his lips,  
"I should get in the car before we appear on the front page on the magazines," She pulls away and opens the passenger door, getting in and babbling at the same time, "Not that we haven't been on the front page cover on every magazine before, we've been on the headlines ever since the gala where you, Mr McKissy, couldn't keep your lips to yourself on the balcony."

Despite being on the road, Steve quickly leans towards her to give her another chaste kiss; he doesn't think he'll ever get tired of kissing her, "I didn't see you complaining."

He sees her eye roll from his peripheral vision before she rolls down her own window and looks out; keeping her gaze fixed on the buildings and people, recognizing some of them, the others strangers. Her long hair blows over her face, flying through the open window, and she eventually gives up brushing it back, making a mental reminder to cut it shorter within the next week.

The car slows down in front of the familiar Tower Liz has unconsciously been associating with home during the past three years. The 'A' on the top is as shiny and bright as the day it was built on, and Liz can see the small changes each member of the team contributed to the outward appearance of the building.

Tony's tech is everywhere. From the security cameras all the way to Jarvis, the AI that manages the entire building. Pietro and Wanda chose out the neutral couches and dark tables for the front lobby. Clint and Bruce redesigned the windows and balconies. Steve argued against the flashy lights that Tony had initially wanted and toned down the lights completely. And Liz planted the trees and plants around the building surprisingly with the help of Natasha and Vision. Liz liked it this way; small increments of the team carefully placed in the structure of her home.

Steve, ever the gentleman, opens the door for Liz, and she takes his hand, intertwining the fingers expertly, relishing in the familiarity and the warmth of the motion, the same warmth that's been coursing through Steve ever since he met the youngest Stark.

Entering the code on the elevator; Liz's birthday, they make their way up the Tower, allowing people in and out, making casual conversations with them and even going far enough for Steve to sign a gushing fan girl's arm, much to Liz's suppressed jealously.

Liz and Steve talk about anything and everything, from their day, to the training with the new recruits, and most importantly, Clint's baby, a topic Liz can't stop gushing about much to Steve's amusement. Liz finds a way to tell everybody that her best friend had a baby boy, and no one can find it in them to be pissed or annoyed by her, so they smile at her, telling her to relay their congrats to her friend, making her smile wider and her companion either blush or fall in love with her even more.

When the elevator doors open to a Tony Stark breaking apart the TV, Liz, not blinking an eye at what is probably a normal occurrence for her, runs up to him and screams,

"Clint had the baby! No Laura had the baby which means that Clint has a sun and I'm non-biologically an aunt and your non-biologically an uncle, and we need to go visit him and Nathaniel and Laura, and I need to buy Lila and Cooper gifts because I promised on the phone, and I haven't even talked to Nat yet cause I was so excited over Nathaniel I forgot." She clings onto Tony's shoulders and jumps up and down wildly, imitating a 6 year child and Tony just looks at her fondly, as he always feels when his sister is concerned.

"I'm hungry." Is his response after trying to knock his brain to think of a response to Liz's ramble.

Tony's sister's eyebrow raise at that, "Seriously, I'm talking about Clint's baby, and all you have to say is that you're _hungry_?"

The genius shrugs, pretending to come off uninterested on the newborn but well aware that his sister could always see through him as if he were glass. She narrows her eyes at him before Steve interrupts their silent conversation.

"I'll cook something up then," he says as he walks into the kitchen that is way too big than necessary.

The soldier stops at the entrance of the kitchen when he spots a familiar ginger head scrounging through the refrigerator. He clears his throat, and Pepper Potts looks up, dressed in Tony's shirt and a pair of jeans as opposed to her customary polished outfits.

"Hey Steve," she smiles at him warmly, taking out a bell pepper from the fridge and placing it on the counter.

Steve had always liked Pepper, she's smart, kind, funny, and can hold her own ground against Tony Stark and happens to be one of the very few people the billionaire actually listens to. He enjoys looking at Stark and Pepper, the way they interact, the way Stark changes around her, becomes softer, more vulnerable, the same way he is with Liz, Steve finds it fascinating to watch.

"Can I help?" he asks the CEO, watching her rinse the peppers for dinner.

Although Steve bought his own apartment, he enjoyed eating his meals with Liz and her family, so much that it became a tradition, eating dinner with the Starks (and Pepper, sometimes Rhodey or another Avenger) before going home.

Pepper smiles at him before throwing him a carrot that he catches with ease, "Be my guest Captain. The Starks aren't going to help after all, and Tony sent the chef home."

And so the two of them quietly make dinner, him chopping vegetables while, Pepper seasoned, fried, cooked, or baked everything. Tony and Liz appeared soon after, the latter changing into leggings and a white shirt covered in grease and burns, indicating that the two of them were in the workshop.

"Oooh, food." Liz sighs when she catches scent of the pasta Pepper slowly stirs while the stuffed potatoes roast in the oven.

"First one that gets to ten wins" Tony whispers in her ear, the same words that he's been uttering to her since she was 10 and she doesn't even have to ask him what it means.

Although many may presume it, Tony and Liz's bond was not deterred by the huge age gap between them. They, as normal siblings would, loved to stay up watching movies together, get in all sorts of trouble, and create their own games and universes together.

As such was a game they would play when they were younger, created by the motivation to annoy Giuliani, their cook (who was a terrible person; never smiled or laughed despite her cooking being one of the finest) when the two children were bored, they would try stealing as much food from the ongoing meal as they could, usually stopping when one gets ten items. It would disrupt the cooking, them stealing all the ingredients necessary, but Tony and Liz found so much joy in it, that the game became a pastime to them, one of the many specialities that Starks shared with no one but each other.

"Liz!" Steve cries out when she promptly grabs the half cut carrot out of the chopping board before putting it into her mouth, her bite making a loud crunch that resonates throughout the kitchen.

"Tony, don't you dare!" Pepper calls out at almost the same time, when Tony, stabs the meat cooking in the pan with the fork he's managed to collect and proceeds to put that in his mouth too, spitting it out into the garbage when he realizes that it isn't cooked as well as he likes.

The next hour turns into a game; Pepper and Steve defending their ingredients, while Tony and Liz make a wild grab and lunge for it. Liz found herself marching out victor, after realizing that kissing Steve proved to be an advantageous distraction.

"Hey that's not fair," he murmurs on her mouth as waves the apple she effectively stole around in the air.

"Everything is fair in love and war Rogers. Jarvis, points." She calls out to the newly reconstructed AI, throwing a smug look to her brother who rolls his eyes at her.

"Ms Stark won the game sir. Ten to nine." Jarvis' voice fills the room, over the sound of the oven beeping, indicating the end of the cooking and the start of dinner.

Liz and Tony disappear upstairs only to return quite promptly, showered and changed into something more comfortable and clean compared to their previous attire.

Dinner is how it usually is. The four laughing, talking, bickering, arguing. Liz rambles about her patients, Steve talks about the new Avengers, Pepper talks about SI and Tony complains and makes fun of everyone and everything, from the nurses in Liz's hospital, to Nick Fury, and to Stark Industry's board. It's the new normal. A normal that once no one thought possible. Now, no one can think of anything other than having dinner with each other, the routine that they had unconsciously created, the routine that they look forward to everyday, the routine that they all love.

Liz won't change any of it. The dinner, the ease and comfort of her new family, washing dishes with Pepper, telling Tony and Steve off when the argue once again about right and wrong, kissing Steve goodbye in front of the elevator, chaste turning into so much more until Tony interrupts with sounds of disgust. She's come so far in the last five years, since the start of the Avengers. She's lost so much of her, but gained so much more.

And as she sits with her brother on the balcony, her head on his lap, looking at their city, their home, she thinks of everything that she has gone through in these three months. The manhunt of Hulk, the new, scarier side of her powers, the new members of the team, the changing relationship between her and Steve. In midst of all this, she's always had one constant, the one thing she could always hold onto, even when things got shaky as they did during Ultron.

"Tony," her voice is soft and quite, but loud enough for her brother to hear through the warm wind that breezes past them.

He hums his affirmative, relaxing further against the pillar, the three glasses of wine, placed on the other side where Pepper had put it before retreating to go to bed, telling the two Starks to bring the wine in before the balcony was an attraction for flies.

"I love you." She says.

It's not odd for Liz to say it. She's an expressive person by nature, and the siblings have never shied away from saying the words to each other. But her brother knows that this time it's different. He's knows her well enough to know what's running through her brain. They're both similar enough for the same thoughts to be running through his own head.

"I love you to Lizzie."

And the truth floats through the air, through the buildings in the city, through the stars in the sky, through every Avenger's head.

Because even though they've faced evil robots, vengeful Gods, powerful Stones, humanly androids, and magic.

Elizabeth Stark might be the greatest epiphany yet.

 _And the truth floats up beyond planet Earth, across the galaxies, all the way to space. And reaches the one being who wants her dead._


End file.
